National Museum of Military History
Opening Hours
Admission daily: 07:30 – 16:00 (Except Christmas Day & Good Friday)
Reach Us
432 Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria, 0001
Tel: 012 492 1358
Email: info@ditsong.org.za
Facilities bookings: moyo@ditsong.org.za
Admission bookings: terence@ditsong.org.za
About the Museum
The DITSONG: National Museum of Natural History formerly known as the Transvaal Museum was founded as the Staatsmuseum of the ZAR on the 1st of December 1892.
It has, since then, been acting as the custodian and documentation centre of South Africa’s natural heritage. The Museum’s collections and exhibits include hominid fossils from the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and associated fauna, including Mrs Ples [the nickname attributed to a fossil skull believed to represent a distant relative of all humankind]; fossils, skeletons, skins, and mounted specimens of amphibians, fish, invertebrates, reptiles and mammals. These collections make up the Museum’s educational programmes.
The DITSONG: National Museum of Natural History is the only natural history museum in Gauteng and one of the largest in South Africa. It is unique in that it is the only institute in South Africa that offers the local, national and international community the opportunity to view its collections, including original fossil material usually denied by the public. These collections make up the Museum’s educational programmes. Research is done, and the information is communicated to all people of South Africa and the international community.
Schools, students and tourists are offered a comprehensive series of programmes and conducted tours in various South African languages, and all education programmes follow CAPS (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement). Booking is essential to participate in these activities. For bookings, send an email to: bongi@ditsong.org.za.
A hands-on activity centre where the five human senses are used to discover the wonders of nature, offering an invaluable educational adventure. It affords easy access for wheelchairs and displays texts transcribed in Braille. This centre is ideal for younger learners eager to explore with their hands.
Throughout the year, talks are held at the Museum by various established researchers and scientists. Please regularly check the “Upcoming Events” page or contact the Public Programmes Department.
The DITSONG: National Museum of Natural History’s researchers and scientists from other institutions doing research can submit scientific papers to the annals. The major publications are the Annals of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History and the Monograph series.
The Museum has exchange agreements with many scientific institutions, both abroad and in South Africa and 342 copies of the Annals of the DITSONG: National Museum of Natural History and 280 copies of the Monographs of the Ditsong: National Museum of Natural History are distributed annually. Up to 2010, the annals were known as the Annals of the Transvaal Museum.