Transvaal Museum

The Transvaal Museum began as the Staatsmuseum (or State Museum ) in 1892, which was created to collect items of both cultural history and natural history. Over the years the museum has expanded considerably. In 1964 the museum was divided, into the Transvaal Museum and the National Cultural History Museum.

The Department of Paleontology houses Pleistocene hominid fossils, including specimens from the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, and ""Mrs. Ples"", the most complete cranium fossil of Australopithecus africanus.

The Department of Invertebrates contains numerous collections of insects, including beetles, ants, butterflies, dragonflies, and grasshoppers.

The Department of Vertebrates is divided into four separate collections, namely that of mammals, birds, reptiles, and Archaeozoology (the study of bones at archaeological sites).

The GeoScience Museum has an excellent display of precious and
semi-precious stones.

Ornithologists will be delighted with the 870 Southern African birds on display in the Austin Roberts Bird Hall.

Upstairs, Genesis I: Hall of Life traces the history of life on earth as it evolved from primitive single-celled bacteria to the complex and diverse forms of life we see today.

Genesis II: Mammal Hall is devoted to the evolutionary development of the mammals, from the mammal-like reptiles found here in South Africa that dating back over 200 million years ago.

MUSEUM HOURS:
- daily 8:00 - 4:00

ADDRESS:
Paul Kruger St., Pretoria CBD

CONTACT DETAILS:
Tel: 27 12 322-7632
Fax: 27 12 322-7939