The
museum holds a wide variety of most reputed collections
relating to culture, history, and art hailing from
East Africa and Kenya. This museum interprets Kenyan
heritage for stimulating learning and appreciation.
Nairobi Museum is a huge facility with many educating
sections, which is the best educational center and
one can easily spend all day here. There is a guide
in the entryway that offers all the information
about each and every section of the museum. Upstairs
in the people section, are displays of the cultures
of various tribes in Kenya. Also, the museum contains
dinosaur fossils found in Kenya. Within the museum
there is a cafe /restaurant with a large balcony
that offers a great and breathtaking jungle view.
It also has touristy shops selling local handmade
jewellery, African artifacts and souvenir items.
There
is an enormous statue of a dinosaur just at the
entrance to the museum which is always a hit with
children. Another major tourist attraction within
the grounds is the Snake Park which has just been
refurbished.
Nairobi
National Museum
Day Tour Price includes
*
Price per person
* Professional English speaking guides
*
All entry fees, service charge and taxes
*
Visit to Nairobi National Museum & Snake Park
*
Pickup from your hotel in Nairobi and drop-off to
your hotel
Nairobi
National Museum Day Tour Does Not include
*
Optional activities
*
Travelers insurance
*
Tips or gratuity, drinks
*
International airfares and airport taxes
*
Laundry, communication charges, visas
*
Meals, sightseeing not included in the package
*
Personal expenses such as transfers to/from the
airport (supplement airport transfer cost applies
for tours starting from the airport)
Nairobi National
Museum
The
recently renovated Nairobi National Museum is a
good place to learn more about Kenya's history and
culture. The construction of the present Museum
Hill site began in 1929 after the government set
aside the land for it. The Museum was officially
opened on September 22, 1930, and named Coryndon
Museum, in honor of Sir Robert Coryndon, one time
governor of Kenya and a staunch supporter of the
Uganda Natural History Society. With the opening
of the museum, the society moved its extensive library
into the Museum complex.
Part
of this collection made the foundation collection
for what is now the Herbarium. In the early forties
and fifties, the late Dr. Louis Leakey made a public
appeal for funds to enlarge the Museum's galleries.
The result was the construction of all the present
galleries to the right of the main entrance.
These
were named in honor of the Nairobi community members
who made their contributions for the construction.
Today, one finds the Mahatma Gandhi Hall, the Aga
Khan and the Churchill Gallery among others. In
the early sixties the Nairobi Snake Park was built
with the aim to educate the public about snakes
and the common reptiles of Kenya. The Snake Park
continues to be a big attraction in the Museum.
In
1964, the Coryndon Museum changed its name to the
National Museums of Kenya. Beginning from 1969,
the Museum expanded its services and assets beyond
Nairobi, and established museums in Kitale, Meru,
Kisumu, Lamu and Fort Jesus in Mombasa. In addition,
the Institute of Primate Research is also closely
associated with the Museum. Each of these regional
museums has its own identity and develops its own
programmes, and is run under the office of the Director
for Regional Museums, Sites & Monuments.
In
the post 1969 period, the Museums have grown and
diversified. The Leakey Memorial building was opened
in 1976 and houses the administration, archeology
and paleontology departments. The building also
houses an auditorium with a sitting capacity of
roughly 300 people which serves to hold different
Museum functions. Also during this period, research
and development programmes were developed and initiated.
These
included cooperation with the University of Nairobi
and the Institute of African Studies, specializing
in ethnography and cultural anthropology. The Education
department initiated programmes for the thousands
of school children who visit the Museums every year.
The Casting Department sells casts of important
fossil discoveries to Museums worldwide, both for
study and for exhibition.
They
exhibit fossils excavated within East African river
valleys, which is believed to be the origin of human
kind. The Kenya National Museum also displays a
variety of stuffed bird species and displays diverse
Kenyan culture. There are three Pillars of Kenya’s
National heritage i.e. Nature,
Culture and History.
Under the Nature Pillar, there are 5 exhibitions.
Nature
Pillar |
Culture
Pillar |
History
Pillar |
|
*
Geology
*
Human origins
*
Natural Diversity
*
Ecology of Kenya
*
Mammalian Radiation |
*
Creativity
*
Cycles of Life
*
Cultural Dynamism |
*
Cycles of Life History of Kenya
*
Cycles of Life Kenya Before 1850
|
