Journey into the heart of Africa and experience its people and rich cultural history with the new "Inside Africa" exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History, opening March 15, 2008.

"Africa is the birthplace of humanity and is a vast continent with incredibly diverse and rich natural and cultural history, most of which is unfamiliar to us," said Darcie MacMahon, Florida Museum of Natural History assistant director for exhibits. "We're excited about the exhibit and our related programs, and their potential to inspire new family and community conversations."

Based on the permanent exhibit at the Field Museum of Chicago, the 6,000-square-foot exhibit takes museum-goers through a journey to selected sites on the world's second-largest continent and offers a deeper understanding of the vitality, richness and significance of its people from historical and contemporary perspectives.

Through many hands-on activities, three-dimensional settings, multimedia presentations and an exceptional collection of African artifacts, the exhibit demonstrates the enormous diversity of African geography, societies and political systems and also helps visitors understand more fully the impact of slavery and freedom movements in Africa and the Americas.

The content of the exhibit is organized into four sections: Families and Festivals, Safari, Caravan, and Diaspora, which examines the disbursement of Africa's ethnic population and its cultural development thereafter.

Evergreen Exhibitions produced Inside Africa in collaboration with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The exhibit is made possible by Procter & Gamble Co.

In Families & Festivals, museum-goers can observe modern family life through realistic settings in the courtyard of a suburban home and through videos of the family's actual courtyard activities. This section contains an orientation gallery that offers basic facts about Africa: its countries, cities, languages, religions and geography.

The Safari section emphasizes African wildlife and ecological tourism, this section features life-size animal skulls and their environmental adaptations, a giant termite mound, and interactive video displays on gorilla research.

The Caravan section features interactive and lifelike displays in an oasis and a Tuareg family tent reveal the complex desert ecosystem. The Tuareg, a semi-nomadic group known for their salt caravans and distinctive blue veils, are the region's best-known people. An actual goat-skin tent and other household objects depict the everyday life of modern Tuareg merchants who crisscross the Sahara to reach several of Africa's metropolitan trading cities.

The section titled Diaspora examines Africa's interrelationships with the Americas, focusing on the dispersal of African peoples from Canada to Argentina. Visitors learn how the majority of Africans historically arrive in the Americas, through an elaboration of the transatlantic slave trade. Visitors can discover African contributions to the creation of contemporary societies and the ways those of African descent celebrate their culture today.

African-inspired Events at the Florida Museum

Singing Tales
Saturday, May 10
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Florida Museum
2 - 3 p.m. at the Tower Road Branch Library, 3020 SW 75th Street

Join celebrated West African griot (storyteller) Papa Susso for an afternoon of traditional music. Experience the rhythmic melody of the kora, the twelve-string instrument featured in the exhibit. This program is cosponsored by the Florida Museum and Alachua County Friends of the Library.

Living Exhibit
Saturdays - June 7, June 21, July 5, Aug. 2 & Aug. 30 | 2 p.m.
(Please note some dates have changed)

August 30: Naana Banyiwa-Horne will bring African culture to life through narrative and dance. Horne is an English professor at Santa Fe College and a well-known poet, storyteller and performer in the Gainesville area. Horne's poetry is featured in the collections "Sunkwa: Clingings Onto Life" (Africa World Press, 2000), and "Sunkwa Revisited" (Africa World Press, 2007). Her scholarly works explore the construction of race, class, and gender in literature.

View a list of recommended books selected by the Alachua County Library District

Download the Inside Africa Exhibit Activity Guide (PDF)