Location
The Uganda Museum which was founded in 1908 is located on Kiira Road in the Kamwokya Suburb of Kampala City and occupies about 13 acres of land. The museum was started at the request of colonial secretary, George Wilson in 1902 to collect all items that were of interest in Uganda in one place. By 1908, a number of artifacts had been collected and they were stored at the first museum at Fort Lugard in Old Kampala. The collections were moved to the current location on Kiira Road in 1957. It is a national museum and it is the oldest and among the best in the region.
Collections
The collections in the Uganda Museum include the following among others:
- Traditional culture
- Archaeology and entomology
- History
- Science
- Natural history
- Ethnographic collection
- Iron age
- Stone age
Specialized collection
The more specialized collections are found in the following places:
- Albert Cook Library at Makerere Medical School (at Makerere University),
- The Institute of Teacher Education,
- Kyambogo University (formerly Uganda Technical College and The Institute of Teacher Education),
- The Makerere Institute of Social Research, and
- The Cabinet Office.
Threat of demolition
The Uganda museum is currently under the threat of demolition as the Uganda Government has plans to build East African Trade Centre in its place. The following four civil society organizations have taken the government to court to stop the demolition plans:
- Historic Resources Conservation Initiatives (HRCI),
- Cross Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU),
- Historical Buildings Conservation Trust (HBCT) and
- Jenga Afrika
Renovation
The museum urgently requires renovation as a number of things need to be fixed.
Huts from various tribes
The huts from various tribes display collections of archaeological, natural history and traditional musical instruments.
The Uganda Society Library
The Uganda Society Library containing a comprehensive collection of out of print books conspicuously absent from the Uganda public domain, and other published works relating to Uganda is housed in the museum.