莫桑比克自然历史博物馆(Museu de História Natural de Moçambique)坐落在首都马普托的赞比西河渡口广场(Praça Travessia do Zambeze)。这座博物馆始建于1913年,即便在非洲范围内也属于资历极深的一批。即便你不打算进馆参观,其充满航海时代气息的白色曼努埃尔式(Neo-Manueline)外墙也值得你停下脚步拍张照片。这里目前由莫桑比克顶尖的蒙德拉内大学(UEM)负责管理,不仅是科普场所,更是研究莫桑比克生物多样性的核心重镇。
这座宏伟的建筑其实建于1911年,最初设计用途是一所小学。到了1933年,当时的殖民政府决定将博物馆迁入此地。建筑风格融合了16世纪葡萄牙曼努埃尔风格的繁复与优雅,窗框和拱门上的石雕细节模仿了航海用的缆绳与珊瑚。即便在整个马普托,这种纯正的欧式复古建筑也已经不多见了。
绕到博物馆后方你会发现一片安静的草坪。这里藏着莫桑比克国宝级艺术家马兰加塔纳(Malangatana Ngwenya)亲手创作的巨幅壁画。马兰加塔纳的作品以色彩鲜艳、构图密集著称。这幅壁画描绘了人类与自然、生灵之间的博弈,那种饱满的生命力与周围静态的博物馆展厅形成了鲜明对比。花园里散落的恐龙模型虽然略显陈旧,却是当地孩子眼中最时髦的户外课堂。
如果要说一个非去不可的理由,那就是这里拥有全世界绝无仅有的14具大象完整胚胎标本。这套标本详细记录了大象长达22个月的完整妊娠过程,从指甲盖大小的胎儿到即将出生的巨婴。虽然展柜略显年代感,甚至有些地方光线昏暗,但这套标本的科学价值在生物学界是公认的泰山北斗。站在这些生命碎片面前,那种对自然造物的敬畏感确实没法用语言形容。
一楼展厅像是把克鲁格公园的精华浓缩到了钢筋水泥之中。这里展示了超过200种哺乳动物标本,最显眼的莫过于那几头狮子和巨大的犀牛。这里的标本制作水平参差不齐,有些甚至是用纸浆修复的,但胜在数量多、品种全。你可以近距离观察长颈鹿皮肤上的细微纹理,这在驱车游猎时可没这种机会。此外,馆内还藏有极其罕见的“活化石”矛尾鱼(Coelacanth)标本,这种鱼曾被认为在几千万年前就已灭绝,直到1938年才在南非近海被重新发现。
博物馆就在马普托核心地带,从著名的卡多佐酒店(Hotel Cardoso)走过去也就几分钟。外籍游客的门票目前大约是500梅蒂卡尔(MZN),约合人民币50多块。比起当地人的票价确实贵了不少,但考虑到这笔钱会捐给大学作为研究经费,也算物有所值。进门后记得问清楚是否可以拍照,有些特定展区(尤其是大象胚胎区)可能需要额外申请或支付少量摄影费。
博物馆逢周一休息,千万别白跑一趟。周二到周五一般从上午8点半开到下午3点半,周末会稍微延长。说真的,这里虽然没有现代博物馆那种高科技互动屏,但这种充满老派科学氛围的环境反而很有味道。如果遇到学生团,馆内的双语导游(葡语和英语)会讲解得非常起劲。看完室内展区,别忘了去二楼看那些超过17万件的昆虫标本,马孔德(Makonde)木雕的艺术展示区也藏在走廊的尽头。
由于大学管理下的日常维护,部分展厅会不定期关闭整修,建议出发前先拨打官方电话确认,或者咨询酒店前台。目前的常规开放时间是周二至周五8:30至15:30,周末则从10:00开放至17:00。
因为这是目前全球已知唯一一套完整记录了大象从1个月到22个月妊娠周期的实物标本。这组标本在第一次世界大战期间就开始收集,其生物学科研价值超过了展品本身,是研究陆地最大哺乳动物生长发育的孤本。
普通游客直接现场买票即可,不需要提前预约。门票价格对外国人约为500梅蒂卡尔,本地学生和居民会有很大折扣。如果你是超过10人的大团体,建议提前通过邮件或电话联系馆方,以便安排专人讲解。
非常适合,馆外的恐龙公园和马兰加塔纳的彩色壁画对小孩很有吸引力。虽然室内部分标本展区光线较暗,但能近距离看到狮子和斑马的实物大小,对孩子来说是一次极好的自然教育机会。
Rodrigo Bernardo Pimentel Nice natural history museum. May not be the largest there is, but the guided tour is informative and entertaining, especially for children. There's a lot of information about Mozambican animals.
Lindy van Rooyen The exhibits were interesting but some rooms or walkways were not accessible due to maintenance needing to be done. We found the outdoor dinosaurs fun and some of the indoor exhibits very interesting though. Worth the visit, just wish it was in better shape.
Elsa Pansilvânia Manjate Museum of Natural History, located in the centre of Maputo city easily accessible. It shows most wildlife in Mozambique(including some African countries) with a section with crafts from old times in Mozambique. Really worth visiting. The entrance fee is reasonable.
Nerika Malan-Venter The museum is a nice attraction to visit. It's very sad that the exhibits are not being maintained and restored. Many of the taxidermy animals are decaying. The museum is very hot side as there is no aircons that is working. Entrance is 100MZN (R25) pp - February 2022 price. The gardens outside is not being maintained is has lots of rubbish. There are some dinosaur replicas with info plates next to them. I would recommend for anyone visiting Maputo for the first time.
Lari Hallowes-Welman I used to come here as a child all the time; it had been a few years since my last visit, and I wasn't dissapointed. Everything was exactly as I remembered it, which isn't really the best thing, as some information was outdated (the evolutionary tree, that sort of thing), but it is a magical place, and truly somewhere one must visit when in Maputo. The building is beautiful, but sadly, there is no wheelchair accessibility; a flight of stairs inside, too. Some of the taxidermy is a little funny, but a lot of effort and care went into the placement of the animals.