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The Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg has a display of a wide variety of different and exceptional animal collections that represent the rich diversity of life in South Africa.The range of interesting things in Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg, varies from elephants to birds and from Zulu Pottery to San Rock Art.
The Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg is located to the south of the City Hall. It is one of South Africa's 5 National Museums. The building was established in 1905. The Museum has collections of South African mammals, birds, amphibians, insects and mollusks. It also has valuable pale ontological and geological material. The ethnological department has artifacts from other parts of Africa. A room devoted to the history of Natal and a reconstruction of a Victorian street, with houses and shops can also be found in the museum.
The entomology collection or collection of insects in the Museum is the largest collection of insects in the country. It is especially noted for the collection of over 220,000 specimens of the Diptera, a fly found in South Africa.
The museum also has one of the best Mollusc collections in the world. The museum boasts of a collection of over 1,000 of both marine molluscs and non-marine moluscs. Although most specimens consist only of the shell, some whole specimens are also on display.
The 3 main galleries in the museum are:
Natural Science Gallery
The museum is also known for the Dinosaur Gallery and the Fossil Exhibit section. Both display ancient specimens found mainly in South Africa. There is also an exhaustive bird gallery and a marine gallery, which contains the rare Coelacanth, an unusual fish that was considered to be extinct, till it was traced off the east coast of South Africa. The African herbivores on display are said to be the most comprehensive collection in South Africa.
Human Science Gallery
This exhibit showcases the history of human habitation in Southern Africa. It begins with an excellent display on the Bushman (San) and the rock art they left behind. Next on the scene were the Iron Age People that migrated down from Central Africa about 2,000 years ago. The Portuguese Gallery begins with early Portuguese explorers, who cleared the way for the later invasion by other Europeans.
Old Pietermaritzburg Gallery
The display of the century apothecary or the chemist shop, pawnbroker, jewelry, dressmaker, blacksmith, and a wheelwright shop brings back memories of life in Pietermaritzburg during the Victorian age.
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