Iziko South African Museum
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The Iziko SA Museum is one of South Africa's National Museums, located in Cape Town. It was created in 1825.
The museum is organized on four levels and hosts a variety of exhibitions, from rock art to fossils, marine animals and meteorites.
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[edit] Ground level
On this level, you can find:
- People past to present= consisting of three separate exhibitions: The Power of Rock Art (on the ideas, knowledge and beliefs expressed in San rock art); African Cultures (material culture of Southern African hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists in historic times, as well as displays of material from Nguni and Sotho people, also collections from the Great Zimbabwe); 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 Karoo region 250 million years ago.
- World of water= depicting life in South Africa's oceans, comprises: Coelacanth (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 whale 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 whale.
- Discovery room= a "hands-on" experience of real specimens and activities that encourage learning through discovery.
[edit] Level 1
On this level, you can find:
- Sharkworld= all about the diversity, biology and conservation of sharks, skates, rays, and chimeras. 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.
[edit] Level 2
On this level, you can find:
- Mammals= mainly Southern African mammals, including a foal of the extinct quagga.
- 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 (out-of-date and to be removed soon).
- 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 Mountain.
[edit] Level 3
On this level, you can find:
- Stone bones of the ancient Karoo= 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.
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