Zambia expands museum in a bid to increase tourism

Zambia has four museums, the smallest of which is the Copperbelt Museum in Ndola. The Ndola City Council aims to change all that with a recent announcement that it will donate some land to expand the museum with a dedicated science and technology branch. Moreover, the land will boast an eco-park and new hotel to make the city more attractive to tourists.

Currently, the council is still in discussions with government experts and the private sector on the exact details of the new museum but construction is expected to start soon. National Museum Board chairperson Mubita Imukusi said, “We will be looking at public and private partnerships in this process. We want people to appreciate and value museums because they are important for education purposes.” The Director of Copperbelt Museums, Chipo Simunchembu said that the new science and technology museum, as well as the eco-park would “promote scientific, technological innovation and diversify the Zambia Tourism product”.

The idea of the expansion was hinted at on 18 May this year, which was International Museums Day. At the time Simunchembu said that the move was necessary to house the ever growing series of collections. Consider that the museum has sections for geology, ethnography, natural history, temporary exhibition and education and that each section has several related collections.
Quick history of the Copperbelt Museum

The Copperbelt Museum Association was established in 1962 as an organisation dedicated to establish a living gallery of natural resources. The idea was to pay specific attention to matters relating to ecology, conservation, geology, mining and local history. Visit http://allafrica.com/stories/201108231594.html for more information.
In 1964, Ndola was awarded the honour of being the city that would house the actual museum building. In 1968, it was gazetted as a state-owned museum and moved to Bwafwano House.
In 1978, it was moved to new premises in Buteko Avenue. More info for your holiday to Zambia, http://www.vacation.co.za/en/Countries/Zambia/.