Musée national du Burkina Faso

The Musée National du Burkina Faso is a national collection facility in Ouagadougou that spans a large ground and houses multiple exhibition halls. In these spaces are archaeological finds, traditional masks, sculptures, jewelry, musical instruments, and tools from various groups across the country.

The museum was founded in 1962 and received its first collections from an African research institution that gathered cultural materials from the region. Later the building was expanded and modernized to display more objects.

The museum displays works from different ethnic communities of Burkina Faso, showing how these groups have preserved their history through objects. The exhibited pieces come from the daily life and traditions of these peoples.

The site has multiple separate buildings for different themes, so it makes sense to allow enough time for a visit. It helps to work through the exhibitions systematically and not rush in order to take in the details of the objects.

On the grounds there is an exhibition of reconstructed traditional houses that shows how different groups in the country once lived. These buildings are constructed in original style and allow visitors a direct sense of past ways of living.