A day of discovery: Experience free museum tours on International Museum Day
Visiting a museum offers a relaxing yet enriching experience. Museums preserve history and house important artefacts that educate communities and foster cultural connection. They provide the perfect setting to explore, learn, and appreciate the wonders of the natural world. For researchers, museums also serve as invaluable resources for discovery and study.
South Africa is home to some of the finest museums around the world. It has different types of museums, such as art museums, natural history museums, and science museums.
Expect to find some of these treasures when you visit museums in and around Gauteng: Paintings, sculptures, portraits, machines, technology , electronics, tools, houseware, clothing, furniture, photographs, letters, artefacts, rocks, plants, and animals.
On 18 May, the world will be celebrating International Museum Day. The theme for 2025 is The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities.
'This theme highlights the essential role of museums as connectors, innovators, and stewards of cultural identity, while fostering discussions about safeguarding intangible heritage, embracing youth empowerment, and exploring technological advancements', reads a statement from DITSONG: Museums of South Africa.
The following institutions will be hosting programmes for International Museum Day and there will be free entrance to the Ditsong museums from 18 to 25 May 2025.
The Apartheid Museum in Kempton Park and the Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial in Soweto will offer free entrances on 16 June 2025.
There will also be month-long activities, from 1-30 May, at some of the museums to promote awareness, enhance accessibility, increase visibility, and promote cultural celebration.
The events will occur at the following museums, a few kilometres from the Johannesburg Central Business District.
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