Between 150 000 and 200 000 years ago modern Homo Sapiens evolved in Africa. They then left the continent and settled throughout the entire world - in the Middle East 100 000 years ago; in Asia and Europe 70 000 years ago and in the Americas 25 000 years ago.
This Origins Centre in Johannesburg is a world-class facility that comprises two independent but closely linked museums.
It was designed by a team of academics and designers from Wits University and aims to provide visitors with a unique experience of Africas rich, complex and sometimes mysterious past.
Combining cutting edge technology with the creative vision of South Africas foremost artists, the narrative structure of the museum takes visitors through an extraordinary journey of discovery.
The journey begins with the origins of humankind in Africa and then moves through the development of art, symbolism, technologythe very things that give us our humanityon the continent.
The journey then continues through the destruction of the great and diverse southern African rock art traditionsthe worlds oldest continuous art formsat the hands of colonists before ending, more positively, with the re-discovery of these ancient masterworks in a contemporary world.
Unashamedly Africa-centric, the Origins Centre seeks to restore the continent to its rightful place in historyas the place where everything that makes us who we are today originated.
Activities
- See the earliest image made by man, found here in South Africa
- Take an 80,000 year journey to the present in search of the art and culture that has inspired and motivated humans in their search for innovation and modernity.
- Experience the oldest known ritual that is still practiced today the San/Bushman trance dance.
- Trace their genetic make up through DNA and find out who they really are.
The average museum experience lasts from between 90 minutes to 2 hours, but for the enthusiast, there is an unsurpassed (and continuously growing) wealth of extra multi-media material on Africas past.
Audio guides come with the price of admission and are available in six languages Zulu, Sotho, English, Afrikaans, French and German.
Contact
Open from Monday to Sunday 09h00 - 17h00
Cnr Yale & Enoch Sontonga Roads, Wits University, Braamfontein
Tel: +27 (0)11 717-4700
Email: ask@origins.org.za
Where to Stay
Accommodation in Johannesburg Metropole are found in areas such as Sandton, Johannesburg City, Randburg, Roodepoort, Benoni and Kempton Park near OR Tambo Int Airport.
Other Things to Do
Johannesburg offers a host of attractions and activities, and offers the visitor many things to do.
Other Johannesburg Museums include The Adler Museum of Medicine; the Dynamite Museum chronicling the history of explosives and chemicals; the Madiba Freedom Museum charting South Africa`s journey to demoscracy; to new a few.
