We were so fortunate to have a private tour of the East London Museum by the principal museum natural scientist, Kevin Cole. He has worked at the museum since 1991 and been a major planner and implementor of the wonderful displays in the museum.
One of the special features of this museum is the specimen of the Coelacanth. It was believed to have gone extinct 65 million years ago. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer <link> was working at the museum in 1938 when one was caught in a fishing net. She researched the find and informed the world. Now, a profile exists of where these elusive fish live.
This museum has the sandstone plates that were found at NahoonPoint. Pictures of those are on my previous post. Nahoon Point link.
The Hofmeyr Skull was found in the Hofmeyr region and turned over to the museum in 1954. It has been dated as 36000 years old. It is an indicator that modern man’s ancestors came “out of Africa”. <link>
How about something more modern. The first recorded sighting of the Dodo bird was by Dutch sailors in 1598. Only 64 years later, the bird was declared extinct. The East London Museum does have a Dodo egg. The one on display is a fibreglass replica.
This is the sign on top of the display case 
Model of a Dodo bird. 
The Dodo bird egg. (replica)
What museum would be complete without a display of dinosaur bones?
The museum has many excellent displays of African wildlife and cultural and mineral samples too.
Part of the upper level of the museum is dedicated to marine history. It contains records and artifacts from marine wrecks that have occurred off of the Eastern coast.
-Where do you want to go today? –
Follow Kevin Cole’s blog with this eastlondonmuseum
Great photos as usual! I love going to museums, they are interesting and educational at the same time.