An Informative Visit to Maropeng and The Cradle of Human Kind
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The Cradle of Humankind
The Cradle of Humankind is one of eight World Heritage Sites in South Africa. Since our trip to South Africa is all about the culture and heritage of the country, we’re here to learn about why this museum is located in a place that is recognized as the spot of which all humankind originated.
Our visit included an incredibly informative walk through the museum. Inside, we learned about the 13 palaeontological sites which are located on the site of The Cradle of Humankind. The size of this site is approximately 116,139 acres!
We also hitched a brief ride on a disney-like underground boat where we were exposed to all of the elements including ice, fire, wind and more.
Face to face with the elements
Afterwards we had our photos taken and put up on a screen. Of course, they want you to purchase your photo as if you just came off of a brain rattling rollercoaster at Six Flags or something. Coincidentally, none of us were too thrilled about how we looked in the photos so we moved on nonchalantly.
The museum sort of reminded me of the Science Museum in Boston. There was interactive games spread out through out the entire floorplan as well as factual references plastered on the walls.
No, this is not a conference call. It's a field trip!
I demonstrated the accuracy of the interactive DNA test by the press of a button. Within seconds my characteristics pop up on a screen and boy they couldn’t have been any more accurate.
Congratulations, you have big ears!
After the results of the DNA test, I headed towards the exit of the museum, but not before I stumbled across this cutie pie…
There were tons of these hairy little ape-like creatures spread throughout the museum. It was as if they wanted to continually remind you of what our ancestors used to looked like.
Before & After
Man, have we come a long way or what?
I’m a fact lover by nature so I really enjoyed snapping photos of some of the signage hanging on the walls of the museum.
Facts:
- 800 million people know what it’s like to go to bed hungry.
- The Earth has been rocked by five mass extinctions. Today, some scientists believe that we’re in the midst of the sixth mass extinction with humans one of the key agents of change.
- The pencils show the percentage of people over the age of 15 that can read and write (by country). Some examples: Egypt 58%, Laos 66%, Morocco 52%, Sierra Leone 30%, and Kazakhstan 98%.
- South Africa uses some 40% of the total electricity consumed in Africa.
World Population:
World Population Counter up to the second!
Fascinating stuff mate! Those ape things are creepy as hell though. Did a quite good “after” job though hahaha!
3 things:
1 – I was under the impressions our population was over 7 Billion. It was all over the news a few months back.
2 – The literacy rates depicted by the pencils. Is that the % of people that CAN read and write in the particular nation?
3 – When do they suspect this mass extinction to be complete?
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