Cape Town - One day, when I am rich, I will have a bowling alley, a private cinema and a planetarium, just so that I can lean back to marvel at a beautiful night sky full of stars.
Or I could move to the country.
The Iziko Planetarium, part of the South African Museum in the Company’s Garden, runs daily shows for children and adults.
Guinea Minnie and the Piece of Sky is on at 12pm and 3.30pm. Aimed at children aged five and older, it was a fascinating experience for six-year-old Bella. She gasped, grabbed my arm and pointed at each new occurrence on the domed “sky” above us. Whether she retained any of the information about the celestial bodies remains to be seen, but the awe was certainly inspired.
A new children’s show, Davy Dragon’s Guide to the Night Sky, will run from April 12 to June 22.
The museum drew a mix of reactions. I’m always intrigued that the stuffed animals from our school outings decades ago are still tucked away in dimly lit glass cases at the back.
Founded in 1825, the museum has been in its present building since 1897, so perhaps I should not be surprised it’s full of really old stuff. And it contains things even older than the taxidermied critters, like 700 million-year-old fossils, as well as stone tools made 120 000 years ago.
A lot of the displays haven’t changed over the years, but some are newer. Bella loved the power of controlling the “Virtual Earth”, a 3.2m half-ball on to which animations of events on the Earth’s surface, both in the atmosphere and below the sea, are projected.
The whale well is always a winner, especially the cocoon, where you can listen to their sounds.
Many of the museum’s wonders were of little interest to children of Bella’s age. The Madiba exhibition did not enthral nearly as much as the giant giraffe and camel, or the giant toothy shark jaw in which you can pose for photographs.
There were disappointments, however. The lighting in some areas isn’t great, there isn’t an easy flow from one exhibit to another, and the whale-sound cocoon section was cordoned off. But the biggest let-down was the Discovery Room.
This, in theory, is a lovely place for children, because it’s full of things that can be touched. But it was locked on the day of our visit, and no one seemed to know why or for how long. Bella liked what she saw through the door glass, but the man with the key could not be found.
No one had any idea what was going on, and I still had a child to entertain. Luckily, strawberry ice cream does that very well.
l The Iziko South African Museum is at 25 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town (or access from the Company’s Garden). For times and prices, go to www.iziko.org.za, e-mail [email protected], or call 021 481 3800. - Weekend Argus