Museums and cultural attractions in and around Joburg
Struggle history
Constitution Hill with the new Court, the old Fort and the old Prison Buildings - excellent introduction to the geography and lay-out of Johannesburg from the Fort ramparts and the history of Johannesburg and South Africa. There are organized tours every hour on the hour. And of course the Constitutional Court judges, in choosing to locate their court at this symbolically charged site, have invested this dark place with a sense of hope and optimism. 011 381-3100; www.constitutionhill.org.za Closed Sundays and Saturday afternoons There is a great little restaurant and coffee shop at the Old Fort.
Apartheid Museum www.apartheidmuseum.org 011 309 4700 Closed Mondays open every other day 10-5 (next door to Gold Reef City and on the way to Soweto) A great building but a very text heavy museum - lots of reading and many videos. Takes about 3 hours. Well worth it though.
Hector Pieterson Museum, one of the first museums in Soweto, it opened in 16 June 2002 two blocks away from where Hector Pieterson was killed on 16 June 1976. A small, manageable and moving museum. 8288 Maseko Street Orlando West 011- 536 0611; open 7 days a week.
Mandela Museum the house that Mandela lived in from 1946 to 1962 and which Mandela donated to the Soweto Heritage Trust (of which he is the founder) on 1 September 1997, to run as a museum. Extensive upgrades were made to the museum which re-opened to the public in March 2009. 011 936 7754 www.mandelahouse.com
Origins of humankind
Origins Centre Rock Art Museum, Wits www.origins.org.za 9-5 daily; excellent museum - well-conceived and one of the few museums that is still well-maintained. gift shop and café R45 entrance adults; R22 children under 12; Guided tours provided plus taped tours available in English, French, German, Afrikaans, Zulu and Sotho
Cradle of Humankind (40 minute drive) Comprises the Maropeng Information Centre which is about a 10km drive from the caves themselves (at Sterkfontein). There are tours through the caves at Sterkfontein during the day; check times before going. There is a small but very good museum at the Sterkfontein site 011668 3200 www.discoveryourself.co.za |
Newtown Cultural Precinct see www.newtown.co.za includes
MuseumAfrica - Closed Mondays 011 833 5624 exhibits from the Stone Age to the present day; It has an amazing historical collection but like the Johannesburg Art Gallery below, is under resourced and is a shameful embarrassment. So until the standard of the Museum improves it is not recommended.
SciBono Discovery Centre; Closed Mondays; visited a lot by local school children and according to a Canadian guest who is a curator of science exhibitions for young people, it is well worth a visit. 011 639 8400 www.sci-bono.co.za
South African Breweries World of Beer Museum 011 836 4900 Closed Mondays a huge amount of money has been spent on this museum and after a very very weak start including a dramatic display of the elements and their special effects (connection to the history of beer is tenuous ?) there are some interesting displays . www.worldofbeer.co.za
Although this isn't a museum as such, if you can, visit the Anglo Gold Headquarters cr Jeppe and West St. Enter from West St. It is a really wonderful example of adaptive re-use of an industrial building - the old turbine hall which housed the turbines for the electrical power station which supplied much of Johannesburg's electricity. For more see my blog
There is also night life at Bassline; Carfax in Pim St, Market Theatre. More on entertainment
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Other cultural experiences
Lesedi Cultural Village: Exhibits and live performances depicting Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, Pedi and Ndebele culture 012 205 1394 www.lesedi.com Very touristy but well done and well worth a visit.
Gold Reef City: Theme Park of early Johannesburg and early mining adjacent to the amusement park 012 248-6800 Closed Mondays Open every other day 9.30-5. (Next door to Apartheid Museum) www.goldreefcity.co.za Well worth it to go down a mine.
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Joubert Park Closed Mondays Like MuseumAfrica, a city funded art gallery which is embarrassingly under-resourced and under-funded. An excellent collection with totally inadequate human and financial resources to maintain and display it as it should be: Johannesburg's flagship of South African art. It doesn't even have a website.. what more can one say? For more info see here Closed Mondays
National Museum of Military History: Situated next to the Zoo. 011 646-5513 Open Daily 9-16.30 I'm not a military machinery person but it provides an interesting overview of South Africa's military history including resistance movements and the integration of Umkonto we-Sizwe (MK) post 1994 www.militarymuseum.co.za
If you are going to visit a Game Reserve where you will be away from urban lights and out in the bush, make a trip to the Planetarium at Wits University first, so that you can make the most of stargazing in the Southern hemisphere. There are shows every Thursday and Friday at 8pm and Saturday mornings and afternoons and sometimes by special arrangement. 011 717-1392 www.planetarium.co.za
Walking tours of the early mining days and colonial history of Johannesburg: join one of the Parktown Westcliff Heritage Trust walking tours - they are interesting although the content is not always rigorously critical. Visit www.parktownheritage.co.za for the programme and prices.
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