From left: Drs Lizel Hugo-Coetzee (South Africa), Andrea Lienhard (Austria), Julia Jagersbacher-Baumann (Austria), Satoshi Shimano (Japan) and Tobias Pfingstl (Austria).

Dr Lizel Hugo-Coetzee attended the 8th symposium of the European Association of Acarologists (EURAAC) in Valencia, Spain in July.  There were 140 delegates from 33 countries.  

International Museum Day, celebrated worldwide every year on 18 May, is a day to celebrate the work of museum professionals.  The objective of this day is to raise awareness of the importance of museum collections and the research based on these collections.  This year the Museum opened its Cultural History and Anthropology Collections and the Palaeontology Laboratory to the public. 

Learners at Oliewenhuis during Heritage Day.

In celebration of Heritage day, Oliewenhuis arranged special activities for learners of two primary schools, Sentraal and Rutanang.  The learners were introduced to various indigenous games, Volkspele and traditional African dances.  The aim of this event was to promote social cohesion and nation building through cultural and sporting platforms.  

Each year on 24 September South Africans celebrate heritage day in appreciation of our country’s diverse heritage.  Heritage day is also an important day on the Museum’s calendar and for this year’s heritage event the Museum focused on South Africa’s culinary heritage.