Natural History Museum of Mozambique, Natural history museum in Maputo, Mozambique.
The Natural History Museum of Mozambique is a natural history museum housed in a Neo-Manueline building in Maputo. The collections are spread across several floors, with glass cases and dioramas displaying African wildlife and natural history objects.
The museum was founded in 1913 as the Museum of the Province of Mozambique and opened to the public about 20 years later. Over the following decades it gradually grew into one of the main natural history institutions in southern Africa.
The building displays Neo-Manueline architecture from the Portuguese colonial period, with decorative facade details that echo maritime traditions. A garden on the grounds features murals by local artists, connecting the old structure to contemporary art in Maputo.
The museum sits at the corner of Rua dos Lusíadas and Avenida Patrice Lumumba, close to Hotel Cardoso, and is easy to find on foot in the city center. Inside, computer terminals let visitors explore the exhibits and look up additional information at their own pace.
Among the rarest objects on display are preserved elephant fetuses at different stages of development, offering a close look at prenatal growth that few museums in the world can show. The collection also holds a preserved coelacanth, a deep-sea fish found in the waters of the region.
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