Museu de Historia Natural — Attraction in Maputo

An odd but weirdly engaging assortment of dioramas, taxidernied and papier mache animals, dead fish and lizards preserved in formaldehyde, and other assorted weirdness. It's claim to fame is a wall full of elephant fetuses in square tanks arranged like a pyramid starting with a few weeks up to almost full gestation.

Everything in the museum is extremely dated which is part of the museum's charm. It doesn't seem like there's been anything new added here in decades and some of the exhibits are quite dusty. It is nothing like a natural history museum you would see in a major developed city and that's the point of going.

The staff is very courteous and friendly, anr the building itself is beautiful and somewhat architecturally interesting. One caution - the level of strangeness and depictions of animals eating other animals might be scary for some young kids with Western...

Architecturally speaking, the Museum of Natural History is a landmark on its own. The collection is a good but small example of the country's biodiversity. The taxidermy is indeed a bit off in some cases and the exhibition in general could benefit of better lighting and exposure solutions, like better shelves. A sad reminder of big game hunting is the most complete collection of elephant foetuses in the world, which is exhibited in the main hall, featuring almost every stage of elephant gestation. Don't forget to visit the surrounding gardens, with murals painted by local famous artist...

I used to come here as a child all the time; it had been a few years since my last visit, and I wasn't dissapointed. Everything was exactly as I remembered it, which isn't really the best thing, as some information was outdated (the evolutionary tree, that sort of thing), but it is a magical place, and truly somewhere one must visit when in Maputo.

The building is beautiful, but sadly, there is no wheelchair accessibility; a flight of stairs inside, too. Some of the taxidermy is a little funny, but a lot of effort and care went into the placement of...