New museum set for opening at Olduvai

Arusha. A new, ultra-modern museum is set for opening at the Olduvai Gorge.

Its construction is part of deliberate measures taken and aimed to promote the archaeological sites as among the major tourists’ attractions in the world acclaimed Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA).

The facility has been constructed close to the old museum which is too small to accommodate hundreds of visitors to the site during the tourism peak season and not well equipped.

"The official opening has been pushed forward to October 3rd from the coming Saturday" Joyce Mgaya, the public relations manager with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) said over phone on Sunday, September 24.

The vice president Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to grace the occassion, according to her.

Ms Mgaya could not reveal the cost of the construction of the new museum whose construction started in 2013.

She, however, noted it was part of a bigger project to upgrade the hominid (early man) sites in the area in order to attract more visitors and that it would be well equipped of vital information.

“It is part of a wider project which will also include Laetoli footprints and geopark project", she said.

Laetoli, some 60 kilometres from Olduvai,is the home of the 4 million old footprints of human ancestors experts say roamed that part of the country in pre-historic times. It was discovered in 1976.

Olduvai is another iconic site in the human origin studies, being where the 1.7 million year old skull of Australopithecus boisei,the 'modern man' was found in 1959.

Both sites were discovered by the Leakey family - Dr. Mary and Louis Leakey, transforming the remote landscapes west of the Ngorongoro highlands into world famous areas of early man evolution studies and tourism.

The two sites and other areas deemed to be of archaeological importance within Ngorongoro were placed under the NCAA a few years ago from the Antiquities Department for effective management and tourism promotion.

Speaking to reporters at Ngorongoro last month, the Chief Conservator Freddy Manongi said the historical and hominid sites were now becoming important areas for revenue collection due to the rising number of visitors.

At least some Sh. 1.9 billion was generated at Olduvai by June this year for the 2017/2017 financial year. It is estimated that a the Authority would earn a whooping Sh.15bn in the next five years from the site alone.

Dr Manongi believes increased visits to Olduvai and Laetoli may have been boosted by improvement of the road network and vigorous marketing of other sites within NCA other than the famous crater.

According to him, NCAA earned Sh. 102bn during the 2016/2017 financial year, up from about Sh. 70bn generated in the previous fiscal year.

The entire 8,300 square kilometre Ngorongoro Conservation Area,one of the world heritage sites, attracts about 600,000 tourists annually.Nearly 100 per cent of them visit the crater and about 15 per cent to the archaeological sites, mainly the Olduvai Gorge.