This stunning museum explores the African origins of humankind through interactive exhibits. The centre is brilliant for school-age children and holds the most formidable collection of rock art in the world, led by the work of the Khoisan people, the original South Africans.
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Origins Centre
Johannesburg
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.93 MILES
Do not leave Jo'burg without visiting Constitution Hill. One of South Africa's most important historical sites, the deeply moving and inspirational…
3.32 MILES
The Apartheid Museum illustrates the rise and fall of South Africa’s era of segregation and oppression, and is an absolute must-see. It uses a broad…
21.98 MILES
One of the most significant archaeological sites in the world, Sterkfontein Caves include a permanent hominid exhibit and a walkway down into the…
8.01 MILES
This powerful museum, named after the 12-year-old boy shot dead during the student protests in Soweto on 16 June 1976, illuminates the role of Sowetan…
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26.95 MILES
Partly housed in a building that looks like a giant grassy mound on one side and shiny modern steel on the other, Maropeng is an all-in-one information…
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1 MILES
Inaugurated in 2004, with its design based on the African concept of 'justice under a tree', the Constitutional Court is a very real symbol of modern…
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10.38 MILES
A highlight of Jo'burg's northern suburbs is Liliesleaf Farm. This was the secret headquarters of the ANC (African National Congress) from 1961 until a…
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10.28 MILES
Opposite one of the schools from which students marched on 16 June 1976 is this stunning open-air memorial to the bloody events that presaged the Soweto…
Nearby Johannesburg attractions
0.14 MILES
If you're serious about astronomy, consider visiting the Planetarium. Check the website for exact times of shows; there's usually one on Saturday morning…
0.3 MILES
Completed in May 2012, this is one of the leading museums of African art on the continent. Although it has an extraordinary collection of 10,000 works –…
0.36 MILES
One the more established commercial galleries in Braamfontein is worth a look. It has two display spaces that it puts to good use with regularly changing…
0.45 MILES
Opened two days after Mandela’s 85th birthday in 2003, this cable-stayed bridge is the longest of its kind in Southern Africa and an icon of the…
0.58 MILES
The massive concrete pillars holding up the M1 Highway in Newtown have become an outdoor art gallery, featuring ever-changing graffiti murals by some of…
0.64 MILES
This museum, housed in the old Bree St fruit market, offers a wide range of exhibitions on historical themes, including the Treason Trials of 1956–61, the…
0.69 MILES
Named after South Africa’s first female trade unionist, this square is partly decorated with an array of heads, carved from old railway sleepers by…
0.69 MILES
Located on the site of an old Afrikaans Dutch Reformed church in a hard hit neighborhood in Jo'burg's western suburbs, the Lam Rim Buddhist Centre is an…