Iziko South African Museum

The Iziko South African Museum is home to the majestic Whale Well – an enthralling experience of marine wonder that includes a 20.5-metre blue whale skeleton. A modern centre of research excellence, the museum showcases a rich range of specimens, from fossil footprints to African dinosaurs, as well as trance-inspired San rock paintings. Situated in the Company’s Garden, it provides inspiring insight into the diversity of the natural world we live in from its exhibitions inside and its beautiful surroundings outside.

Iziko is an IsiXhosa word meaning “‘hearth”. A hearth in a typical African homestead usually occupies a central space, hence the Museums of South Africa have been renamed Iziko Museums of South Africa. The prefix Iziko symbolises the museums as hubs of cultural activity and a central place for gathering South Africa’s diverse heritage.

The museum is an especially fun family experience, showing extinct species as well as current species from all over the world. The planetarium is an added expense but is highly recommended with its hour-long films that detail the incredible hidden details of the universe, the human body and more.

Be sure to ask staff for a virtual tour of the planetarium as well. The gardens surrounding the museum are an equally worthwhile place to spend a few hours. Even better – grab a spot in the shade with the museum as a backdrop and have a picnic on the grass.