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Transvaal Museum (Northern Flagship Institution)

Where is it?

The Transvaal Museum, situated in Paul Kruger Street in Pretoria, is one of South Africa's premier natural history museums. The museum is open every day from 08:00 - 16:00 (except Christmas Day & Good Friday). For enquiries and group bookings, call the Museum on (012) 322-7632.

What is on display?

The impressive models of dinosaur skeletons outside the Transvaal Museum arouse the visitors' curiosity about what can be found inside. Once you step inside the beautiful sandstone building, you have a choice of huge display halls to explore. Extensive exhibits on hominid fossils from the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and associated fauna are on display. You will also find fossils of amphibia, fishes, reptiles and plants from the Karoo. Of special interest is a reconstruction of a Deinonychus dinosaur that was used by Stephen Spielberg in the filming of Jurassic Park.

Appointments can be made for learners to explore the Discovery Centre, were children and the young at heart can enjoy a "hands on" experience of natural history.

Adjacent the Transvaal Museum's natural history displays, the Geoscience Museum offers visitors the opportunity to see a diversity of minerals from various parts of the world. In addition, a sample of moon rock and even a small piece of Mars (which fell to earth as a meteorite) are on display.

Further information on the Transvaal Museum and other museums associated with the Northern Flagship Institution can be found at www.nfi.co.za.