Exhibition The Exhibition Department main objectives are to: Maintain exhibitions; create new displays; design corporate identity; and design programmes, posters, business cards and invitation cards. The Exhibition Department is actively involved in the Three (3) museums, namely: Observatory, History and Natural Science. It is also involved in the display process associated with the National Arts festival, the Science Festival and additional visiting exhibitions. Furthermore, it is actively involved with the acquisition of travelling / loan exhibitions; and overseeing contemporary exhibition space. Lastly, the department is responsible for cultural heritage, craft (including outsider art) and marginalized artists. Museum Hours and Admission Natural Sciences Museum 09h00 - 13h00 and 14h00 - 17h00 Mondays - Fridays 09h00 - 13h00 Saturdays The front of the core-block of this building, now entirely occupied by galleries, was build between 1889 and 1902. Additions to this building over the years have resulted in it now consisting of 8800m² of floor space of which about 2200m² is occupied by exhibition galleries. The remainder houses administration, workshops, research departments, collections, the library, taxidermy workshop, art studios, education facilities and an 80-seat lecture hall. In 1941 a fire gutted the building, destroying much of the exhibition material. The Museum was rebuilt and new exhibits constructed with specimens generously supplied by other museums in South Africa. Observatory Museum 09h30 - 13h00 and 14h00 - 17h00 weekdays 09h30 - 13h00 Saturdays The Observatory is a unique multi-storeyed 19th century Victorian shop and home which is now a museum. This house had a place in the identification of the first diamond that was found in South Africa, and a display on the ground floor tells this story. Its connection with the identification of the Eureka in 1867 prompted De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. to purchase and restore the Observatory in 1980-82 to commemorate the beginning of the diamond industry in South Africa. A feature of the Observatory is a special exhibition focusing on Dr William G. Atherstone and the five other main participants in the identification of the first diamond discovered in South Africa in 1867. The owner-designer of the Observatory was a watchmaker and jeweller, Henry Carter Galpin, who lived in Grahamstown from 1850 until his death in 1886. A successful businessman with seven sons, he still found time to pursue his interests of astronomy, optics, natural history, music and practical mechanics - all of which are reflected in the house he designed. Its unusual features include: a Camera Obscura, today a rare Victorian amusement, and the only one ever build in South Africa. For more information visit The Magic Mirror of Life. an Observatory, ingeniously combined with the Camera Obscura. a Meridian Room, from which astronomical time - GMT (Grahamstown's mean time) could be calculated. a Clock, a miniature of the one constructed in 1883 for the new Royal Courts of Justice in London. The pendulum swings in the Drawing Room and is decorated with a painting of Father Time by the Frontier artist Frederick Timpson I'Ons. History Museum 09h00 - 13h00 and 14h00 - 17h00 Mondays - Fridays 09h00 - 13h00 Saturdays In 1965 the 1820 Settlers Memorial Museum was funded and build by the Cape Provincial Administration. Today this building is known as the History Museum and is the second largest building in the Albany Museum family. It houses three art galleries, three cultural history galleries and the research and curatorial staff offices. Most of the exhibitions are of a didactic nature. The Old Provost Opened on request only. The Provost Prison derives its name from its association with the Provost Marshall, the officer responsible for the maintenance and order in military camps and the punishment and custody of deserters and other military offenders. In 1835 Sir Benjamin D'Urban, as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape Colony, gave instructions for the building of a fortified barrack establishment which was to include a military prison. The Provost Prison was built by the Royal Engineers to a design based on Jeremy Bentham's eighteenth century panopticon system for the "ceaseless surveillance" of prisoners and was completed in 1838. The original panopticon consisted of an outer circle of cells and exercise yards which could be kept under constant observation from the windows of a central two-storey guardhouse. In 1937 the Old Provost was declared a national monument and restored by the Cape Provincial Administration. Having been restored it was handed over to the Albany Museum in 1982. Fort Selwyn Opened on request only. Fort Selwyn is situated on Gunfire Hill overlooking Grahamstown and was named after Captain (later major) Charles Jasper Selwyn of the Cape Corps of Royal Engineers. Captain Selwyn, who was responsible for the design and construction of the Fort, was stationed in the Eastern Cape from 1834 to 1842. In March 1835, during the 6th Frontier War, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape Colony, ordered plans to be drawn for a fortified barrack on the Drostdy Ground (now part of Rhodes University), to accommodate an increased garrison and provide a place of refuge for civilians in time of war. To protect the approaches to the town and its water supply, he ordered that a redoubt be built on Gunfire Hill, south of the town, from where it would dominate the surrounding ravines. The plans were completed and the sites marked out for D'Urban's approval by July 1835. Construction started in August and the essential works, including Fort Selwyn, were completed by the end of June 1836. The fort was occupied by the Royal Artillery from 1836 until 1862, when most of the garrison was withdrawn from Grahamstown. In 1845 a semaphore mast was erected as part of a telegraph system that was intended to connect Grahamstown with Fort Beaufort and Fort Peddie. However, as one would-be wit remarked, `the system was a signal failure' because the masts were often obscured by mists and haze. Until September 1870 a nine o'clock gun was fired from Fort Selwyn every morning, allegedly to remind Grahamstown's civil servants that they should be at work. The fort was again manned during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. Thereafter it fell into disrepair and in 1925 was converted into a domestic residence and tea-garden. It was declared a national monument in 1936 and restored by the Cape Provincial Administration during the 1970's as part of the 1820 Settler Monument scheme. In 1977 it was handed over to the Albany Museum. Staff: Zach Taljaard (HoD) Cathy Lambley Thabang Tshobeni NOTE: All Museums are closed on Sundays, Christmas, Good Friday, New Years Day and Workers Day (1st May) A nominal admission fee is charged on all days. Scholars in uniform, official school groups and accredited students enjoy free admission. General contact details: Somerset Street, Grahamstown, 6139, South Africa Tel: (046) 622 2312 / Fax: (046) 622 2398 BACK HOME