Olduvai Gorge Museum lies in the Northern Conservation Area in the Northern part of Tanzania. It was founded by Mary Leakey in late 1970s. The museum was originally designed to display paleoanthropological artifacts from the surrounding area of Olduvai Gorge. After the death of Mary Leakey, the Tanzanian Government’s Department of Cultural Antiquities undertook the museum. The museum’s collection is dedicated to the Laetoli fossil sites and Olduvai Gorge. In mid 1990s, the museum was renovated by J. Paul Getty Museum’s Department of Conservation with addition of new wings to the museum with exhibitions.
The museum comprises mainly of paleoanthropological artifacts and research. One of the rooms of the museum is devoted to the Leakey family that includes historical artworks belonging to Olduvai George and charts that define the procedure of fossil excavation. The hall adjacent to this room is dedicated specifically to Laetoli fossilized footprints, which consist of a cast made from the part of footprint trail by J. Paul Getty in 1996. Apart from this, there are two outdoor lecture areas that are used for presentation. The staff of 120 people serves the museum that mainly belongs to local Maasai tribe.
Image Source :George Lamson|Flickr