Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe – A Natural Resource for Guides

July 28, 2025
Paddy Pacey
Guiding

The Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo is a resource that every guide needs to use as it can provide:

Background information to enhance one’s own understanding of natural history processes;
Research support and expert guidance on scientific questions you might have;
An enhanced experience for clients who can see in the museum some aspects of wildlife and vegetation that they were not able to see in the bush.

The Museum is one of the oldest natural history museums in Africa and recognized as one of the finest museums in Southern Africa. Here is it’s history:

1902 – a room in the Bulawayo Public Library and called “The Rhodesia Museum”

1905 – in the Congregation Chapel

1910 – housed on the north-east corner of Fort Street and 8th Avenue in a purpose-built building designed by Sir Herbert Baker

1936 – renamed the “National Museum of Rhodesia”.

1960 – building started in Centenary Park

1964, March – the present building consisting of four floors in a circular building with a large central courtyard. was opened to the public

1982 – renamed “Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe”

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The Museum has several distinct functions:

Public informative display of materials in the form of nine public galleries, each offering a unique glimpse into various aspects of Zimbabwe’s natural world or history;
Research and storage of research collections not on display but available to scholars throughout the world to support scientific and historical research. These collections include some of the “type specimens” that have been used to assign names to specimens (see below under Entomology);
Administration of the Museums and Monuments of the country.
Educational support for the public and for schools.

We will talk of the research holdings and the public displays together under the headings of the various departments.

Geology

The Geology Department is the oldest department in the museum, having been established in 1901, even before the museum opened it doors for the first time.

The geological collections and displays are ranked among the best in Africa and house over 15 000 specimens comprising rock, gem, and mineral specimens. Some of the minerals are considered to be the finest of their kind in the world, for example, the kermesite specimen and a wide variety of rare lead or zinc minerals. The exhibits begin with minerals and their identification and include typical pitfalls for prospectors.

Then follows an A to Z of minerals starting with aluminium and arsenic; minerals found in Zimbabwe include alluvial chrysoberyl, topaz and ruby from Somabhula, amethyst from Hwange, garnet from Pfungwe and Beitbridge, emeralds from Mberengwa and Filabusi, beryl from Mwami and chrome chalcedony (mtorolite) from Mutoroshanga.

The origin of rocks is explored and their classifications into igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. There is a slice of orbicular granite from one of the few sites in the world on the edge of the Matobo and examples of Stromalites from Huntsman quarry north of Bulawayo which is 3,000 million years old and amongst the earliest forms of life on earth

A life-size replica of a gold mine provides visitors with an experience of an important part of Zimbabwe’s mining heritage and is supplemented by displays of early gold-mining equipment, including lamps and theodolites for surveying, candle holders and test kits for mineral identification.

Paleontology

The palaeontological collections and displays consist of approximately 2 000 specimens of plants and vertebrates.

Various Karoo Group flora and fauna (from 55 to 70 million years ago) are present, for example:

Glossoptris (a kind of giant fern)
Therapsides which are the earliest forms in the important lineage to mammals.
Various dinosaurs – Syntarsus rhodesiensis and Vulcanodon karibaensis, Euskelosaurus and Massopondylus (which is the most common dinosaur in Southern Africa). All of these are of prime importance in the understanding of the early evolution of archosaurs and birds.

Other archosaur material present is from the Pebbly Arkose and the Jurassic-Cretaceous sediments and it includes rhycosaurs, sauroopods and dinosaur footprints. Vertebrate remains from the Quaternary sediments are also present.

Ornithology

The bird collection at the Natural History Museum dates back to the beginning of the 20^th Century and specimens obtained in those early days are still held by the museum. The Ornithological collection is one of the most comprehensive study collections in the world, with specimens collected in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Angola, as well as South and East Africa.

Specimens have been added to the collection over the years and there are now an estimated 110 000 study skins, 2 000 skeletons, 8 000 clutches of eggs and 150 nests in the collection.
The department also takes care of the Nest Record Card Scheme which started in 1951 and now numbers close to 42 000 breeding records for the birds of Zimbabwe.
A comprehensive bibliographic index to the birds of Africa is maintained in the department and this supplements the wide selection of regional and international ornithological and other scientific journals available in the Museum Library.
Various research projects have been carried out on the collection or parts of it by local and international researchers. Current research focuses on the theme “birds and man” and includes work on alien bird species introduced by man and the effects of various cultural beliefs and practices on bird conservation.

As a result, this has become one of the most important reference collections with representative sample of most of the bird species of Zimbabwe and Africa, South of the Sahara.

Mammology

The Mammalogy gallery displays an extensive array of African wildlife in a range of exhibits, including dioramas with realistically painted backgrounds. In the larger mammal displays hippo jostle for space in a secluded pool, a wildebeest watches for predators, sable antelope, an eland and kudu browse together, a pride of lion feast on their kill and buffalo, giraffe, warthog and smaller antelope share the space with the Doddieburn elephant, the second largest elephant ever mounted which stood 3.52 metres (eleven feet seven inches) and weighed 5.5 tonnes.

The collection of mammals held by the museum is the largest on the African continent and in 1984, was rated as the eighth largest in the world. It includes a large representation of extant mammals from Botswana, Mozambique, Zamia and Zimbabwe. Significant collections from Malawi, Namibia and South Africa are also preserved. The collection has been partially computerized and compiles a total of approximately 100 000 scientific specimens.

Research and activities over the past two decades have focused on small mammals, especially bats. The collection of bats now exceeds 10 000 specimens, with a research focus on the systematics, biogeography and life histories of selected groups. The mammal collection continues to grow with approximately 1000 new specimens accessioned each year.

Entomology

The Entomology Department of the Natural History Museum was established in 1911 and to date holds the largest collection of insects in the country.

The Department maintains a valuable representative collection of the insect fauna of the country and the sub-Sahara Afro-tropical region and even extends to Madagascar. There are more than two million insect specimens, and these are represented by over 50 000 species.

The collection is predominantly rich in taxonomically characterised orders of Lipidoptera, Odonata, Orthopter, Isoptera, Coleoptera, Nuecorptera, Diptera (Tephritidae) and Hemiptera. The Odonata part of the collection is the most complete and extensive collection in Africa and is followed by the Lepidopteran order.

The specimens are acquired through museum field expeditions and donations from research scientists, students, private collectors and the public. Only about 0.06% of the insect specimens are on public displays in the galleries and the rest are housed in the laboratory. Most of the specimens are preserved as dry-pinned insects in wood drawers and a few in alcohol and permanent slide mounts.

The special value of the collection is that it contains over 3 000 insect “type specimens” – those used in original descriptions and to which species names are formally and permanently attached. Given this strength, the museum has become a major centre for the provision of bio-systematic services and research as well as conservation of invertebrate biological diversity in Africa.

Arachnology

The Arachnid Department has been in operation at the Natural History Museum since 1983, so it is a comparatively young Department. Over 95% of the collection is from Zimbabwe with a few specimens from the neighbouring countries. Today the Museum has a sizable, catalogued collection with well over 15 000 Araneae (spiders), 5 000 Scorpiones (scorpions), 1 000 Solifugae (sunspiders) and many Acari (ticks and mites), Amblypygyi (whipscorpions), Pseudoscorpiones (false scorpions), Opiliones (harvestmen), Chilopoda (centipedes) and Diplopoda (millipedes/Shongololos).

Current research in the department focuses on the scorpions and spiders. The scorpions are of medical importance, and it is through intensive collecting by the museum and various members of the public that the distribution and taxonomy of many of our scorpions are relatively well known.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the spiders and despite their ecological importance, they are little studied in Zimbabwe. Only 200 species of spider have been recorded in the literature as occurring in Zimbabwe. This is a fraction of what does occur and the total is probably closer to 6 000 spider species.

Herpotology

Collection of reptiles and amphibians (herpetofauna) for inclusion into the Museum collections started in 1907. Despite this, the Herpetology Department did not come into being until 1956, with a complement of some 1 000 specimens. The collection has grown to over 60 000 specimens with some 72 primary types as a result of numerous expeditions within Zimbabwe and into Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique as well as bequests, donations and exchanges.

Consequently, the department now holds what is arguably the most comprehensive sub-Saharan Africa collection of reptiles and amphibians.

All the material in the department has been documented and preserved. using either a liquid preservative (wet collection) or in the form of dried specimens (the dry collection). The wet collection constitutes over 90% of the collection.

Two liquid preservatives are employed: 70% ethyl-alcohol and 5% formalin. The latter preservative is used for snakes and amphibian eggs and tadpoles, while the rest of the collection is in alcohol. The dry collection consists of tanned, flat skins and osteological material. All the Varanids (monitor lizards) are preserved as stuffed skins, while the turtles are mainly in the form of shells.

Ichthyology

Although fish specimens from Central Africa have been collected and stored in museums of Europe and America from as far back as 1840, it was not until the 1960s that an official Honorary Curator of Ichthyology was appointed to establish and consolidate the taxonomy (the theory and practice of describing, name and classifying organisms and nomenclature) of fresh water fishes of Zimbabwe.

Over the years, numerous collecting expeditions have been undertaken and a National Fish Collection built up. Today the collection consists of over 55 000 specimens all carefully recorded, preserved and as far as possible identified.

Mycology

The dramatic fungi display was opened in 2017, providing information and 3D displays about every aspect of the fungi which pervades and supports every aspect of the living world including a life-sized model of the Root Zone in which fungi operate and a cross-section through a termite mound.

History: Hall of Man and Hall of Kings

The first floor begins with the story of mankind in Zimbabwe starting with early man as a social being and tool maker and exhibits large early tools from the Sangoan period 250,000 years ago and the finer points and scrapers from the Magosian period 100 000 years ago.

Various displays examine the themes of art in society, African music, ancient gold workings including a cross-section of a shaft and the skeletons of miners crushed in rock falls, the Portuguese arriving at Sofala in 1505 and the development of the long-distance trade. Zimbabwe gold has been exported for at least 2 000 years through Swahili traders up the east coast of Africa to India, China and Europe.

The role of the Nyanga and his divining bones within traditional society is examined, then Ndebele Society and the Ndebele (or Matabele) warrior.

There is a display of part of the Robert Codrington knife collection and a comprehensive display of traditional basket wares, pottery and domestic utensils.

This gallery traces the rise of the Ndebele kingdom and looks at the reigns of Mzilikazi and Lobengula.

The nineteenth Century history of Zimbabwe is examined in detail with the BSA Company which through its Royal Charter governed modern day Zimbabwe from 1890 to 1923 running the law courts and post offices through its own police force the BSAP and granting mining licences and farmland. The role of transport in the development of Zimbabwe is examined including Mangwe Pass, the railways, Odzi Bridge built in 1899 and Victoria Falls Bridge in 1905.

A fine example of the Zeederberg coach is displayed along with the gun carriage used to carry Rhodes’ coffin to his grave-site in the Matobo. The different mediums of currency exchange are displayed from ancient copper ingots to trade beads, bangles and cowrie shells to early 20th Century notes and coins.

Throughout these galleries most of the forty-two panels from the National Tapestry are exhibited; these were stitched by members of the Women’s Institutes from 1946 and portray events from the country’s history. The final tapestry made from over five million stitches was presented to Parliament in 1963.

National Museums & Monuments

NMMZ is a parastatal, funded through grant by Central Government and falling under the Ministry of Home Affairs. This Department of the Museum is responsible for, among other things, the identification, documentation, preservation and maintenance of archaelogical and national monuments in the Western Region of Zimbabwe, which stretches from the Limpopo to the Zambezi and from the Botswana border in the west to a few kilometres from Shangani town along the Bulawayo-Gweru Road.

The Department ensures that the public has access to information on as many archaeological, historic, geological and scenic sites as possible. Some of the notable sites in the region managed by Museums and Monuments include:

Khame National Monument – A World Heritage site, and the successor to the famous Great Zimbabwe;
Old Bulawayo – The first city of Bulawayo, established in 1870 for King Lobengula, the second and last King of the Ndebele people;
Victoria Falls – A unique geological feature, breathtaking waterfall and a World Heritage site;
Matopos, another World Heritage sitewith one of the longest histories of human occupation and interaction with the environment in Southern Africa and more than 10 000 rock art sites

Education

Educational initiatives are integral to the museum’s mission. It offers guided tours, lectures, and conservation programs aimed at fostering public appreciation for natural and cultural heritage.

The museum’s auditorium and education center provide spaces for community engagement and learning.

Natural Sciences Education

One of the more recent educational developments (and a contribution to the biodiversity of the area) has been the creation of the Mike Gardiner Butterfly Garden (named after a major contributor to the study of butterflies) to the right of the Museum entrance in 2023. Here plant species that are particularly attractive to butterflies have been thickly planted and various species of butterfly are beginning to pursue their life cycles in the area. The Butterfly Garden at the Natural History

The latest initiative on this front is a Wetlands Education project, officially launched on the 19^th July 2025 with a large outdoor informative display in the area to the left of the Museum entrance where it is planned to recreate a functioning wetland over the next few years. The vision is to introduce school parties (and anyone who is interested) to the facts behind the vital role of wetlands in Zimbabwe and the causes of wetland destruction and then have them able to turn to observe a functional example.

Heritage Education

Most of the displays in the museum galleries highlight a lot of aspects in the syllabuses of both primary and second schools and the historic and archaeological sites in the Western Region of Zimbabwe are a superb teaching aid for all levels of education.

The Heritage Education Service helps to interpret the various displays in the museum through study materials which are available to either organised groups or individual students.

The Heritage Education Service also responds to requests by schools, clubs and other educational groups to help in study and interpretation of National Monuments in the Region. Such fieldwork is encouraged because it invariably complements work undertaken in the Museum Galleries and back at schools.

Collections Management

This department was established in 1998. Management involves taking care of the collections and data associated with the collections. The collections need to be preserved from the moment they are collected up to when they are out in the proper storage areas. Data associated with the collections is captured in Accession Registers and processes which the specimens undergo are documented. All the information is computerised so that the data is easy to maintain and update.

There is need for the collections to be accessible to researchers and to the public. The department loans specimens to institutions who request for them for purposes of exhibitions, education and research.

Library

The books, journals and historical material held in the Library are the major source of information not only for research undertaken within the museum, but also for other scientific and educational activities within and outside Zimbabwe.

This is not a public library but a special library, set up by the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, to serve the information needs of its staff. Permission to make use of the library’s resources by outside research workers may be obtained from the Regional Director or the Senior Librarian.

Conclusion

The Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe is a beacon of knowledge and cultural preservation. Its comprehensive exhibits and active research departments not only celebrate Zimbabwe’s rich natural and historical background but also inspire future generations to value and protect their heritage. For students, researchers, and tourists alike, the museum offers an unparalleled journey through the wonders of Zimbabwe’s past and present. Its research departments conduct ongoing research and provide valuable resources for education, public engagement in the natural sciences, tourism, and conservation efforts.

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Sources

The above was largely adapted from