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The Roodepoort Museum was buzzing with more than 200 schoolchildren, community members and NGOs to celebrate World Museum Day.
The worldwide community of museums celebrates International Museum Day on and around 18 May.
The International Council of Museums established International Museum Day in 1977 to increase public awareness on the role of museums in the development of society.
The Roodepoort Museum houses the memory of the region’s culture, achievements and values. The permanent displays illustrate the changes brought about because of the discovery of gold and include a reconstructed 19th century farmhouse, a late Victorian house as well as a 1920s and 1930s lounge setting. Also on display is a selection of the museum’s phenomenal collection of decorative arts.
Anne Smart, Roodepoort Museum’s chief curator, she said on Saturday, 18 May 2019, the international council provides the opportunity for museum professionals to meet the public and alert them as to the challenges that museums face. She said it gave her joy that Roodepoort Museum opened its doors on this day to celebrate International Museum Day with communities that were forcefully removed by the apartheid laws from the area and relocated to areas like Dobsonville, Delarey and other areas.
“Today serves as a platform to go back memory lane and raise public awareness on the role museums play in the development of society today,” said Smart.
According to Lesedi Manetsi from Bukho Bami Youth Centre, a skills development and youth empowerment facility in Dobsonville Soweto, World Museum Day was an eye opener for her and her peers and it also afforded them the opportunity to learn about the history of Roodepoort.
“It was interesting to learn about the history of Roodepoort and how people used to live in the 19th century farmhouse to where were are now. Indeed we have come a long way and I strongly believe that we have great stories to tell about our country,” said Manetsi.
