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The Museum of Natural History, Maputo is one of the most popular and must see spots of sightseeing in the city. If you have a knack for the past history and culture of the place then The Museum of Natural History, Maputo is one place where you can know more about it.

The Natural History Museum was founded in the year 1911 and it showcases the natural history of the city. The museum is housed in a beautifully restored colonial building and is situated near the Hotel Cardosa. While the monument is no doubt worth going to see, the museum displays will appeal to a rather specific audience. The main attractions of the museum constitute of a large shark collection and a collection of elephant foetuses. This collection shows the stages of development during gestation.

The Museum of Natural History, Maputo is placed in a beautiful gothic-style building which further makes it so attractive. The Maputo's Museum of Natural History is the home of the unique collection of a dugong and a Latimeria chalumnae (coelacanth), “a living fossil” (dead on the display). Besides that the tourists can also enjoy seeing the extensive collection of Mozambican animals or visit the craft shop situated nearby.

Those who are ardent wildlife lovers can make for a day out. The adjoining exhibition of culture and anthropology is also fascinating. Though the descriptions in the exhibitions are given in Portuguese only, it is well worth seeing for its pictures, masks, tools and accessories.

Some of the other important museums in Maputo besides the Museum of Natural History, specializing in natural history and ethnography are the Freire de Andrade Museum (minerals); and the Military History Museum. Beira and Nampula have general museums. Manica has a natural history museum and Isla da Inhaca, near Maputo, has a museum of marine biology. After a long and brutal civil war lasting for more than a decade, the situation of these institutions is at best unknown.

Besides the museums, some of the other important places to see include the National Library of Mozambique, founded in 1961, and which contains 110,000 volumes. There is a small public library system.

For more information on The Museum of Natural History, Maputo, visit travel.mapsofworld.

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