Iziko South African Museum
Encyclopedia
The Iziko SA Museum is a South Africa
n national museum located in Cape Town
. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897. The museum houses important African zoology, palaeontology and archaeology collections.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n national museum located in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897. The museum houses important African zoology, palaeontology and archaeology collections.
Exhibits
The museum is organized on four levels and hosts a variety of exhibitions, from rock art to fossils, marine animals and meteorites.Ground level
- People past to present consisting of three separate exhibitions: The Power of Rock Art (on the ideas, knowledge and beliefs expressed in SanBushmenThe indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
rock art); African Cultures (material culture of Southern African hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists in historic times, as well as displays of material from NguniNguni people-History:The ancient history of the Nguni people is wrapped up in their oral history. According to legend they were a people who migrated from Egypt to the Great Lakes region of sub-equatorial Central/East Africa...
and SothoSothoSotho may refer to:*The Sotho people , an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa and Lesotho.*The Sotho language , a Bantu Language spoken in southern Africa, an official language of both South Africa and Lesotho.*The Northern Sotho language , a group of related Bantu dialects...
people, also collections from the Great ZimbabweGreat ZimbabweGreat Zimbabwe is a ruined city that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, which existed from 1100 to 1450 C.E. during the country’s Late Iron Age. The monument, which first began to be constructed in the 11th century and which continued to be built until the 14th century, spanned an...
); Lynenburg Heads (artifacts from the early Iron Age, symbols of the ritual life of early agriculturalists in South Africa).
- Karoo fossils dioramas of mammal-like reptiles (they look like dinosaurs but are not) that lived in the KarooKarooThe Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub-regions - the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The 'High' Karoo is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger South African Platform division.-Great Karoo:The Great Karoo has an area of...
region 250 million years ago.
- World of water depicting life in South Africa's oceans, comprises: CoelacanthCoelacanthCoelacanths are members of an order of fish that includes the oldest living lineage of Sarcopterygii known to date....
(the caste of the first Coelacanth discovered in 1938, with information on the biology and evolutionary history of this "living fossil"); Ocean Giants (features the longest and heaviest species of bony fish and the largest of all invertebrates).
- Southern oceans animal life in the Sub-antarctic region.
- Whale well a unique collection of whaleWhaleWhale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
casts and skeletons, to be seen from all floors; includes a 20.5 metre blue whale skeleton. You can also listen to the song of the humpback whaleHumpback WhaleThe humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
.
- Discovery room a "hands-on" experience of real specimens and activities that encourage learning through discovery.
Level 1
- Sharkworld all about the diversity, biology and conservation of sharkSharkSharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s, skates, raysRajiformesRajiformes is one of the four orders of batoids, flattened cartilaginous fishes related to sharks.Rajiforms are distinguished by the presence of greatly enlarged pectoral fins, which reach as far forward as the sides of the head, with a generally flattened body. The undulatory pectoral fin motion...
, and chimerasChimaeraChimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes, known informally as ghost sharks, ratfish , spookfish , or rabbitfishes...
. Includes massive megatooth shark jaws and an audiovisual centre.
- Iziko planetarium an extraordinary audio-visual experience expounding the wonders of the universe. Monthly flyers on current productions are available at the museum's entrance.
- Our place in the universe a display depicting a cosmic zoom to view the universe on an ever increasing scale, reaching back to almost the very beginning of the universe.
- Meteorites features three large iron meteorites.
Level 2
- Mammals mainly Southern African mammals, including a foalFoalA foal is an equine, particularly a horse, that is one year old or younger. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, but these terms are used until the horse is age three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam , it may also be called a suckling...
of the extinct quaggaQuaggaThe quagga is an extinct subspecies of the plains zebra, which was once found in great numbers in South Africa's Cape Province and the southern part of the Orange Free State. It was distinguished from other zebras by having the usual vivid marks on the front part of the body only...
.
- Birds Southern African and exotic birds, avian evolution, dioramas of waterbirds and seabirds.
- Wonders of nature found on the mezzanine level overlooking the bird gallery. Features a selection of objects showing the beauty and diversity of natural form.
- History of the SA Museum shows the history of the museum from its beginnings in 1825 to until 1975.
- Mindspace on-line resource centre.
- Indigenous knowledge an important part of South Africa's heritage. This exhibition is a window on indigenous ways of using natural resources.
- There are also a collection of South African and foreign minerals, an exhibition on the biology of bats and a geological model of Table MountainTable MountainTable Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa, and is featured in the flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top...
.
Level 3
- Stone bones of the ancient KarooKarooThe Karoo is a semi-desert region of South Africa. It has two main sub-regions - the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The 'High' Karoo is one of the distinct physiographic provinces of the larger South African Platform division.-Great Karoo:The Great Karoo has an area of...
focuses on 250 million year old mammal-like reptile (therapsids) fossils from the Karoo with reconstructions of what they might have looked like. Features the evolution of mammals from the therapsids, and the End-Premian Extinction- believed to be the biggest extinction event the Earth has ever experienced.