Museums not 'fuddy-duddy'

2004-05-18 13:04

Cape Town - Story-telling, exhibitions, a tour of old cells and a "stokbrood" (bread-on-stick) braai - some of the fare the Western Cape's museums offered on International Museum Day on Tuesday.

Museum service education officer Geila Wills said South Africa's museums had transformed.

"The perception is that museums are stuffy, fuddy-duddy... this is not so any more."

The theme for this year is "Museums and intangible heritage."

Wills said many people, particularly children, were coming to museums because of Curriculum 2005 and its emphasis on history and language.

She said visits to museums gave children an understanding of where they are today and how their forefathers lived.

Wills said as part of the celebrations, a pack describing genealogy and how to compile a family tree was developed and distributed to all museums, including those at Worcester, Swellendam, Bredasdorp, Franschoek, Moorreesburg and Simon's Town.

The province has 28 museums.

- SAPA