Developing a 21st century museum in Kenya
Frederick Karanja MIRARA
Abstract
BackgroundIn the introduction, I will look at the status of museums in the world and why they are
changing as witnessed by the author in many parts of the world. This will culminate with a brief
history of the Nairobi Museum in Kenya that is currently undergoing the process of change.
Planning for ChangeThe second part will look at the process of change starting with the study that identified the
need for changing the museum. The study was carried out eight years ago and formulated the
objectives and the various components of the project. The rational of the changing museum is
inbuilt in the study. An overview of the components will be indicated.
Project Implementation: Managing Change This part will look at the implementation of the project with special reference to public
programmes. The focus of the presentation will be the activities that are being undertaken. The
involvement of the stakeholders at various stages of development will be rationalised. The
development of management tools, mission and vision statements, policies, staff structures and
training will be highlighted. The section will conclude with a brief and rational of the exhibits that
are being developed. What museum are we creating?
Challenges of Implementation This section will look at the challenges that we are facing in the implementation of the
project: lack of research findings and materials for history exhibition, time constraint, shortage
of skills, and staff morale and commitment.
Conclusion Many museums are working towards making museums more accessible and relevant to the
audience, self-reliant with support from the public through gate admission fees, and hence our
efforts in Nairobi can be applied to museums in Asia.
1 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper
Developing a 21st century museum in Kenya
IntroductionMuseums in many parts of the world are
going through some changes. This paper will
examine the process of change going on in
the Nairobi Museum, Kenya. It will look at the
historical perspective influencing its
operations, activities and challenges that the
project is facing. Many of the challenges cut
across and may not be new. However,
differences in approach are visible as you will
note from the Nairobi experience.
Past museums set up in the 18th and 19th
centuries were referred to as the cabinet of
curiosity kept away from the main public. But
in the last century there was a radical shift
from private to public museums. The
International Council of Museum defined the
museum of the 20th century as a non-profit
making, permanent institution in the service
of the society and its development, and open
to the public, which acquires, conserves,
researches, communicates and exhibits, for
the purpose of study, education and
enjoyment, material evidence of man and his
environment. This definition has continued to
evolve to date.
There are many museums that are going
through this period of change: the Livingstone
Museum in Zambia, the House of Culture in
Tanzania, Lake Malawi Museum in Malawi
and Kelvingroves Museum in Glasgow in
Scotland. The House of Culture project in
Tanzania is being implemented in phases
from 2005 - 2008. It will be transformed into a
platform for stakeholders' partnership and
networking, creating and promoting cultural
experiences, material expression, attractive
and interactive programmes and dialogue, for
the development of present and future
generations.
The changes are motivated by many
reasons. The museums want to be relevant,
inclusive and accessible to the audience and
above all self-reliant. Museums also want to
update their exhibition methods by integrating
the modern information technology. In this
endeavour new concepts and roles of
museums are emerging. The National
Museums of Kenya is caught up in this
euphoria and like many other museums is
undergoing changes.
Setting the base: Colonial experience The Nairobi Museum started in 1909 at a
time when Kenya was going through political
changes after the scramble of Africa in
Europe. Kenya was given to Britain. It was
founded by members of the East African
Natural History Society that were mainly
colonial administrators and settlers. Like their
employer they had the agenda to rule and
gain as much as they could from the
resources that they found in Kenya. For them
to effectively rule and exploit the resources,
they had to have an in-depth knowledge of
the surrounding.
In search of knowledge they landed on the
study of the local people and their
environment. This led to the collection of
cultural and natural materials. They raised a
huge collection of material and the need for
storage arose. In this hullabaloo of myriads of
ruling and collecting the Nairobi Museum was
founded. The first building was opened to the
public in 1930. It was named Corydon
Museum, after a former colonial governor. It
is the current central hall of the Nairobi
Museum and will host the new Treasures of
Kenya exhibition in the new museum.
The Museum has gone through a process
Fig. 1: Nairobi Museum Central Hall before renovation.
Photo kind permission of National Museums of Kenya
2 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper
of gradual change in time. Exhibitions and
other facilities were developed gradually.
Remarkable changes include museum
expansion in the 1950's, 1970s and 1980s.
These changes included additional buildings
either for offices, research laboratories or
exhibition, but none of this can be compared
to the current renovation. The current
renovation is literally affecting all aspects of
the Museum, and is the biggest exhibition
development undertaken in its history.
The Museum became a national institution
in 1964 when it changed its name to National
Museums of Kenya. As a national institution,
it became the centre of the development of
museums in Kenya spearheading the
development of new museums at a regional
level. This resulted in the development of
museums in Mombasa, Kisumu, Kitale,
Kapenguria, Narok, Kabarnet, Lamu and
Malindi.
Throughout its history up to 1964, the
Museum was exclusively for the members of
the East African Natural History Society.
Curators and visitors were mainly Europeans.
It was a forum for dialogue for them and
hence, colonial agent. In 1966 there was a
change and a school liaison office was
opened to cater for institutional groups. But
this was short lived as it was closed soon and
reopened in 1968. Since then education has
grown to be one of the main functions of the
Museum.
Similarly the development of the
exhibitions was in the hands of a few
individuals. Many of them were driven by
personal interests in specific fields and
produced exhibitions to a large extent for
themselves and their friends. The bird gallery
was very popular with both local and
international bird watchers. Nature
enthusiasts were their audience. No wonder
none of curators had interest in the history of
Kenya. This trend changed greatly in the
1980s and 1990s as the audience base
broadened to include the disadvantaged in
society such as street children.
Towards the change processThe momentum of change continued and
resulted to the current refurbishment going on
in the Nairobi Museum. The change is
motivated by the demand from the society
and accountability. At the national level, the
Museum is expected to participate fully in
development. The national economic
recovery report (ERC) covering 2002-2007
indicated clearly the way forward for national
development. The targets to be realized in
this period include poverty alleviation through
creation of new jobs, promotion of tourism,
agriculture and fishing, forestry and mining
development. Under the socio-economic
agenda the following were highlighted: shelter
and housing, HIV/Aids and security and law
enforcement, among others.
Through exhibitions, the Museum can
contribute to meet the objectives of ERC.
Exhibitions on HIV/AIDS can go a long way in
creating awareness of the pandemic,
biodiversity and cultural exhibitions provide
very useful information for the tourists. They
are usually the starting point for nature
enthusiasts.
At the international scene, millennium
development goals (MDGs) encapsulate the
challenges that humanity is facing today. A
few of the goals can as well be addressed
through the museum exhibitions such as
combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases, ensuring environmental
sustainability and improving maternal health
Fig. 2: Artist impression of the new Nairobi Museum.
Photo kind permission of National Museums of Kenya
3 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper
of gradual change in time. Exhibitions and
other facilities were developed gradually.
Remarkable changes include museum
expansion in the 1950's, 1970s and 1980s.
These changes included additional buildings
either for offices, research laboratories or
exhibition, but none of this can be compared
to the current renovation. The current
renovation is literally affecting all aspects of
the Museum, and is the biggest exhibition
development undertaken in its history.
The Museum became a national institution
in 1964 when it changed its name to National
Museums of Kenya. As a national institution,
it became the centre of the development of
museums in Kenya spearheading the
development of new museums at a regional
level. This resulted in the development of
museums in Mombasa, Kisumu, Kitale,
Kapenguria, Narok, Kabarnet, Lamu and
Malindi.
Throughout its history up to 1964, the
Museum was exclusively for the members of
the East African Natural History Society.
Curators and visitors were mainly Europeans.
It was a forum for dialogue for them and
hence, colonial agent. In 1966 there was a
change and a school liaison office was
opened to cater for institutional groups. But
this was short lived as it was closed soon and
reopened in 1968. Since then education has
grown to be one of the main functions of the
Museum.
Similarly the development of the
exhibitions was in the hands of a few
individuals. Many of them were driven by
personal interests in specific fields and
produced exhibitions to a large extent for
themselves and their friends. The bird gallery
was very popular with both local and
international bird watchers. Nature
enthusiasts were their audience. No wonder
none of curators had interest in the history of
Kenya. This trend changed greatly in the
1980s and 1990s as the audience base
broadened to include the disadvantaged in
society such as street children.
Towards the change processThe momentum of change continued and
resulted to the current refurbishment going on
in the Nairobi Museum. The change is
motivated by the demand from the society
and accountability. At the national level, the
Museum is expected to participate fully in
development. The national economic
recovery report (ERC) covering 2002-2007
indicated clearly the way forward for national
development. The targets to be realized in
this period include poverty alleviation through
creation of new jobs, promotion of tourism,
agriculture and fishing, forestry and mining
development. Under the socio-economic
agenda the following were highlighted: shelter
and housing, HIV/Aids and security and law
enforcement, among others.
Through exhibitions, the Museum can
contribute to meet the objectives of ERC.
Exhibitions on HIV/AIDS can go a long way in
creating awareness of the pandemic,
biodiversity and cultural exhibitions provide
very useful information for the tourists. They
are usually the starting point for nature
enthusiasts.
At the international scene, millennium
development goals (MDGs) encapsulate the
challenges that humanity is facing today. A
few of the goals can as well be addressed
through the museum exhibitions such as
combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases, ensuring environmental
sustainability and improving maternal health
Fig. 2: Artist impression of the new Nairobi Museum.
Photo kind permission of National Museums of Kenya
4 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper
higher income. Museums are approaching
the age of self-reliance due to the reduction
of the government contribution. Over the last
two years the government has reduced its
support to the National Museums of Kenya by
15%.
A new staff structure has been developed
and is in the process of implementation. The
structure identifies the core functions of the
museum. This includes administration,
research collection and conservation,
management of museums, sites and
monuments which includes public
programmes, and the Institute of Primate
Research, an affiliate of the Museum. It
stipulates the staff requirements, job
descriptions, experience and capacity
building.
The implementation of the project was
supposed to start in 2001 up to 2007 as per
the agreement. But due to the bureaucracy
the project started in 2004. One of the
conditions put by the donors was the passing
of the Museum and Heritage Bill and the
restructuring of the staff. This was delayed by
political development, the national elections
in 2002 and government priority. The
implementation of the new structure involves
rightsizing of the staff, ultimately laying off
some staff. This is to be funded by the
government. Again due to government
priorities, this has been delayed.
Although the project practically started in
2004, the agreement was not reviewed. This
means that it should be completed by June
2007. All the components commenced at the
same time and this has put a lot of pressure
on the museum management as activities
that were to be covered in seven years will be
done in three years. The management has to
mobilize all the available resources especially
the human, to ensure that the activities are
completed in time. The museum
management as per the agreement is
expected to provide all the necessary human
skills particularly in exhibition, education and
conservation notwithstanding the already
existing problems of the staff shortage.
Working towards viable publicprogrammes
Museums participation in development is
through its research programmes and
ensuring that the research results are
integrated in the development projects. This
is mainly done through public programmes.
Relevant research in indigenous food plants
can contribute to the eradication of extreme
poverty and hunger. This information can
reach the people by direct community
participation and through exhibitions,
publications, mass media and a host of other
communication channels.
The main mode of communication is
through exhibitions. This poses a big
challenge in the production of effective
exhibitions that will ensure a lasting impact on
the visitor. It calls for a clear understanding of
the audience, content and methodology. As
Hooper puts it, museums will only survive
through delivering opportunities that are
enjoyable, valuable, unique, and have easy
access and also related to specific target
groups.
The current wave of budget cuts in
museums requires very good and attractive
public programmes that can sustain and
attract audiences to the museums. It is in
view of this that the project was conceived
and a lot of emphasis given to public
programmes. One of the objectives is to
enhance its income generating capacity.
Each year the Nairobi Museum receives more
than 150,000 visitors. About 70% of this is
from educational institutions, as they mainly
come for education purposes.
Putting up an exhibition of any magnitude
small or big is quite a challenging task. For
the Nairobi Museum we are thinking of about
4300sq.m. This is double the size of the
previous museum before renovation.
Remember that this took more than eighty
5 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper
Developing a 21st century museum in Kenya
years to complete.
The planning and preparation of the
Nairobi Museum exhibition started with the
development of guidelines in form of mission
and vision statements of the public
programmes. A workshop was held on 27th
August 2004 that developed the mission and
vision of the public programmes in the
Museum. This is currently the guiding
principles of the exhibitions:
Mission Statement
To provide the best possible access to, and
sharing of heritage with the people, through
processes and methods that reflect the needs
of the society.
Vision Statement
Public programmes will promote the
appreciation, conservation and sustainable
utilisation of our heritage.
Core values
We are committed to promoting cross-
cultural understanding and unity in diversity
We uphold inclusiveness
We pursue excellence, professionalism,
teamwork, commitment and innovation
We embrace processes that provide
lifelong learning experiences.
A visitor survey was undertaken in
November 2004 (Fig. 5). The survey was
undertaken to assess how the public felt
about the Museum, which exhibits they
enjoyed the most and how they felt the
Museum could be improved. Several types of
questionnaires were set out to find out what
the general public would like to see in the
Museum. There were individuals in-house
and out-house, groups in-house and out-
house, and a tracking grid, i.e. observing
visitor behaviour in the galleries.
The survey revealed that 78% of the
visitors are local and the rest from other
areas, with the majority from Western
Europe. Nairobi residents constitute a small
proportion of 8% of the total visitors. The
results of the survey have been very useful in
developing the exhibitions.
Concept development started with a
training programme. An expert museologist
was recruited to conduct the training. Staff
were trained in exhibition development
techniques. In a workshop in May 2005
concept development skills and management
of exhibitions in museums was developed.
The meeting also identified the thematic
areas for the new exhibitions. Later this was
to be presented to the Museum senior
managers for approval.
The climax of the process was the
workshop organized at Naru Moro near
Mountain Kenya, in July 2005. This workshop
was attended by museum senior managers
who looked at the proposed exhibition
management plan and the themes for the
new exhibition. The collection in the Museum
was considered while planning for the
exhibition. The collection is mainly cultural
and natural. These are the key pillars of the
Nairobi Museum collection.
However, there was a strong feeling from
the visitors' survey that there should be an
exhibition on the recent history of Kenya.
According to the survey, 15% of group visitors
were interested in history and geography,
while 38% indicated that they will visit again
to see historic items. It was therefore agreed
that the three thematic areas that should be
included in the new museum should be
nature, culture and history of Kenya (Fig 4).
This workshop was followed by the
establishment of the teams that are
developing the exhibitions. The teams are
headed by the Museum Directors who act as
the monitors for the activities. The others are
the educators, designers, developers and
subject specialists. The multi-disciplinary
project teams have almost all the skills
essential for exhibition development. The
teams started working in October 2005. The
teams have been working in a difficult
6 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper
environment with very little input from the
senior managers and the divided time of the
content specialist who are also research
scientists of the museum, among others.
The teams have been given a huge
responsibility to produce a world class
museum within a short period. To achieve
this, the project teams have been working in
consultation with a wide range of people
through workshops, seminars and visits to
other museums to get the best exhibition
practices. Several workshops targeted at the
general public have been held. Participatory
approach has been applied contrary to the
past approach of relying on the Museum
curators and designers.
In April 2006 a public forum organized
jointly by the Kenya Museum Society and
National Museums of Kenya was held. A
presentation of the proposed museum was
given to the participants. Issues related to the
content and designs of the exhibitions were
raised in the forum. Concern was raised on
the architecture of the new museum
especially the use of pillars (Fig. 3).
Participants felt that this had no relation with
African architecture; it was more of
Mussolinian design.
Other concerns raised in the forum
included the use of the word colonial in
the history exhibition gallery. It was felt that
that word would evoke bad memories of the
colonial rule in Kenya. Another participant
was concerned about the language and felt
that language was central to unity and
suggested the use of the local languages.
This is a good idea but if implemented would
not enhance understanding and appreciation
of the values of the 42 communities in Kenya.
Fig. 3: New Museum Entrance with pillars under
construction. Photo: Fredrick Karanja
Fig. 4: The overall framework of the exhibition. Kind permission of the National Museums of Kenya
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Heritage
Cultural Natural
NATURE
CULTURE
HISTORY
History
7 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper
Developing a 21st century museum in Kenya
We use English as the national language of
instruction. However we are encouraging the
use of local languages with translation.
The issue of inclusiveness was also raised.
One participant suggested that the Kenyan
communities should be represented in the
Museum. This is being addressed through
selection of items from diverse communities.
For example in the Circle of Life exhibition,
the Celebration of Life section is represented
by objects from different communities.
Equitable representation is our guiding
principle.
The issue of temporary and permanent
exhibitions was raised by one participant was
felt that when he visited the Museum while in
school saw the same exhibition he saw when
he brought his young son and wondered at
what stage it will change. In the course of
museum-in-change programme, this issue
has been addressed through an exhibition
policy.
The policy proposes that the permanent
exhibition should have a life span of ten years
ideally. Planning for changes should start
then. Attempts should be made to incorporate
research findings. The temporary exhibition
should have a life span of not more than six
months and not less than two months. This
does not rule out maintenance work as this is
a routine work for the curator. A more
comprehensive exhibition operational manual
is under preparation. Children enjoyment is
catered for in the new museum. Children or
interactive corners have been set aside for
their activities.
The project has recognized the need for
training the staff by organizing seminars and
workshops, incorporating training elements in
the activities, and exposing them to other
museums. In 2005 some members visited
Malawi and had the opportunity to see some
museums that have been refurbished recently
such as the Lake Malawi Museum. The team
also attended the Commonwealth Association
of Museums Conference whose focus was
planning programmes for children in the
museums.
In April/May 2006, some members of the
exhibition team visited a few Museums in
Britain in an effort to borrow ideas on
exhibition development. The team learnt a lot
from the visit. They visited the British Natural
History Museum, the British Museum, the
Imperial War Museum, the London Museum,
the Britain at War Museum and the Horniman
Museum in London, and the Liverpool
Museum of World Cultures and the Maritime
Museum in Liverpool.
The visit was an eye-opener and gave an
insight into the planning and preparation of
natural, cultural and historical exhibitions.
Use of life size models and dioramas in
exhibitions was common in many museums
that were visited. Creating effective
interactive centres was another common
feature such as the Hand Base at Horniman
Museum. The Centre has cultural items that
include music instruments, costumes and
masks, among others that visitors can try on
their own.
Working with experts and consultants has
been critical to ensure that quality work is
produced. Within the project Management
Unit there is a permanent museologist
working with the team Museum Advisor. The
role of the Advisor is to provide professional
guidance in all stages of the exhibition
development.
Experts in various fields are engaged on a
consultancy basis. Workshops are organized
to solicit their input. In July 2006,
distinguished historians from four local
universities were invited for a two days
workshop on the history exhibition. The
workshop responded to some of the issues
raised during the public forum and also
assisted in setting the bases for developing
the storyline of the exhibition. It is worth
noting that the workshop was honoured by
the presence of a world renowned expert in
African history from Oxford University in the
United Kingdom, Dr. David Anderson.
8 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper
In July and September 2006, educationists
and curators from within the Museum and
outside were invited for a forum to discuss
the forthcoming exhibitions. The educationist
came from secondary schools and education
management institutions. Of special mention
is the Kenya Institute of Special Education
that trains teachers for the disabled. This was
represented in the workshop.
This shows our concern for developing
exhibitions accessible to all including the
disabled. In the renovated museum, there are
ramps that link all the exhibitions. Visitors in
wheelchairs will now move around the
exhibitions with ease. Later a very informative
document on how to develop programmes for
the disabled was presented to the exhibition
teams. As we develop the exhibitions, we are
borrowing a lot from this.
Additional facilities include a shopping
complex with shops, hotels and accessibility
to the Bank through ATMs. These are
accessible without paying admission fees.
There is also a large visitor centre with ample
storage for visitors'' luggage. Next to the
shopping mail is space for outdoor exhibits
and resting.
The immense task of exhibition
development is seen in the split of the original
three exhibitions into many galleries. The
exhibitions will fit into twelve galleries. The
theme of nature has been split into five
galleries: Natural Diversity, Adaptive
Radiation, Geology, Human Origins and
Ecology; Culture has four galleries: Intro into
History and Culture, Circle of Life, Cultural
Dynamism, and Contemporary Art and the
History of Kenya gallery. This does not
include the exhibition spaces set aside for
temporary exhibitions.
The History gallery has four main sections:
pre-1895 or Kenya before Kenya, 1896 -
1920 Invasion and Resistance, 1921 - 1963
Who owns Kenya, and 1963 - 2002
Independent Kenya. The planning of this
exhibition is extremely challenging.
It is more concept-led than object-led as
there are very few historical collections and
no research base in the museum. Only a few
photographs and documents are available in
the Museum Archive. All the work going on is
dependent on external support. Historians
from local universities have been hired on a
temporary basis to provide information and
assist in script writing.
The experience of putting up history
exhibitions in Kenya, especially the Nairobi
Museum is limited with very bad memories.
The first attempt was a temporary exhibition
on the struggle for independence. Due to the
lack of a clear policy the exhibition that was
put up to celebrate the independence of the
country turned out to be a permanent
exhibition for more than twenty years. It was
removed in 1996 with the aim of improving it.
This was never done.
Later in 1998, the Asian community in
Nairobi put up an exhibition on Asian African
Heritage. This was a community project,
initiated, developed and maintained by them.
Individuals contributed objects, planning and
preparation was done by the Asians and
guided tours were conducted by them. The
community was also responsible for raising
funds. The exhibition was to be a temporary
exhibition for six months. The owners literary
refused to remove it.
The current museum-in-change project
saved the situation and it was finally
removed. The objects and photographs on
display were returned to the owners. But they
insisted that they should be given a
permanent space for the exhibition. The
community has promised to contribute
funding to that space where again only Asian
African materials would be displayed. This
raises a lot of issues on integration and
representation of communities. It also defeats
the purpose of the exhibition of enhancing
unity in diversity. This is yet to be finalised.
For the history exhibition, plans are to
collect objects through donations and maybe
9 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper
Developing a 21st century museum in Kenya
buying. Production of dioramas based on
photographs will also be done. The other big
challenge is to avoid a photographic
exhibition with too much text as photographs
are abundant.
The storylines for most exhibitions are
complete and the selection of objects has
started. At the same time design work has
commenced. Installation work for some
exhibitions is expected to commence in
January, 2007.
Challenges facing the teamsNegative attitude of the public towards
some aspects, namely the Origin of Man
exhibition. Kenya being predominantly a
Christian country, some religious groups
are opposed to the presence of the Origin
of Man exhibition. They contend that it is
against Christian teaching.
Lack of experts in some areas such as
taxidermists, designers and historians.
Staff changes and shortages caused by
resignation, study leave and search for
greener pastures.
Time constraints caused by the
bureaucracy, delay in processing
requirements, donor fatigue/syndrome.
Lack of readily available management tools
such as mission, vision, exhibition
management structures, and policies.
There were no policies governing the
development of an exhibition
Lack of experience in handling such large
scale projects. The Museum's exhibitions in
the past were put up piecemeal. Small
exhibitions holding about 156 objects were
taking more than one year to complete i.e.
Hazina exhibition, a joint exhibition between
the British Museum and the Nairobi
Museum.
Museums are not a priority in the
government's plan of action. The Museum
and Heritage Bill has taken a very long
period to become an Act since it was
introduced in Parliament.
Lack of suitable collection/objects for
exhibitions. Objects used in the past
exhibitions require extensive restoration
work and some of them are beyond repair.
The development of the history exhibition is
the most critical. The Museum has no
collection or research results; hence it has
to rely on external resources.
Resistance to change by the staff and the
public. They were not prepared to handle
the changes. This has led to mistrust and
sometimes to infighting. This has greatly
affected the progress of the activities.
Despite all the challenges the preparations
of the exhibitions are at an advanced stage.
Design sessions have already started and
installation is expected to start in January
2007.
ConclusionThe new millennium holds a very bright
future for museums. The future audience is
increasingly interested in learning and aware
of the availability of resources in the
museums. But equally, they are also sensitive
to high quality services, hence a big
challenge. Museums must continually keep
on changing in response to changing
audience's needs and tastes. The age of
museums as a place of dusty objects is long
gone. They have a crucial role to play in
development at all levels: international,
national and local.
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Report of the public debate on new exhibitions. (2006, Apr 11). Louis Leakey Memorial Building, Nairobi Museum,
Kenya.
Annual feport. National Museums of Kenya Support Programme. 1st September 2005 - 31st August, 2006. 8ACP KE009.
Visit by the author to Livingstone Museum in Zambia, Lake Malawi Museum in Malawi, and participating in the NCTSA
Conference in Liverpool, U.K. Many presentations from different Museums in the U.K. described the refurbishment
going on in their museums.
Hooper-Greenhill, E. (1994). The past and the present and the future: Museum education from 1790s to the 1990s. In
Hooper-Greenhill. (ed.) The educational role of the museum. London, U.K., Routledge.
About the authorMr. Frederick Karanja Mirara is a Kenya citizen by birth, born in 1953 and married with three children. He started
schooling in 1960 and joined Kenyatta College (today Kenyatta University) in 1970. In 1990/91, he attended Leicester
University in U.K for a Masters in Arts. In 1996/97, he went to Osaka, Japan for a certificate course in Museum
Management Technology. In addition to formal education, he has attended numerous short courses in museology,
communication, fundraising and public relations.
Mr. Mirara started his career as an educationist in 1974 and taught history and religious education up to 1980 when
he joined the museum as an Education Officer based in Nairobi Museum. His work in the museum entailed organizing
education programmes for school groups and general public.
In 1991, he was given administrative work of the Museum's Education Department. For the next ten years, he was in-
charge of recruitment, training, initiating and supervising the education projects in all the museums in Kenya. Education
projects objective is to enhance access to the museum collection and research findings. Some of the projects included
travelling exhibitions. Exhibitions travelled to as far as Russia, United Kingdom, Japan, Poland, Czechoslovakia and
Hungary, among others.
Some of the programmes that he organized and raised funds for included Children Science in the Museum -
collecting traditional toys through a competition and putting an exhibition of the toys; Early Man and Environment -
collecting art work from students and selecting the best for mass production to distribute to schools; editing and
producing books and leaflets for visitors and schools such as Biological Techniques, A Poster and Handbook on
Wetlands and Appreciating Evolution . Individually, he has authored the publication A Guide to Gikuyu Culture:
Gikuyu Homestead and numerous leaflets on pottery, calabashes, among others. Some of his papers have been
published in international journals.
Mr. Mirara has organized many international conferences on children programmes in museums in Africa under the
auspices of the Commonwealth Association of Museums (CAM) in 1997 in Kenya and 2004 in Malawi. Currently Group
of Children in African Museums (GCAM) is working on a travelling exhibition on peace. As a Council member of CAM,
he is involved in the planning and preparation of the exhibition. As a Board member of ICOM Committee of Education
and Cultural Action (CECA), 2000 - 2004, he participated in the planning of CECA activities. He has attended many
international Conferences.
In June, 2004, Mr. Mirara was seconded to the National Museums Support Programme as the Manager, Public
Programmes Coordination Team. The project is funded by European Union and has four main components;
infrastructure, Heritage bill, public programmes for Nairobi Museum and staff restructuring. He is coordinating the public
programmes. He has facilitated the development of a Museum Public Programme policy and strategy, marketing
strategy, exhibition and conservation policies, among others.
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