News

Since opening to the public back in 2005, Maropeng has fulfilled more than just the mandate of collecting, preserving and exhibiting items of historical importance.

“Remote” and “remarkable” – these are words used by delegates to describe Maropeng’s world-class conferencing facilities in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Over the years, the iconic Maropeng Visitor Centre has hosted a number of prestigious events, ranging from gala dinners to strategy sessions.

Even your home-cooking skills deserve a break during the holidays! So why don’t you take time off and bring the family to the Maropeng Boutique Hotel?

Prepare to make a whole new discovery when you go to the Cradle of Humankind and visit the HANDS that rock the Cradle shop at Maropeng. The arts and crafts shop officially opened its doors for business on 1 November 2019.

Maropeng has bade a fond farewell to the iconic The Long March to Freedom exhibition, which we hosted at Maropeng for nearly a year.

Don’t worry about preparing your own Christmas feast this year. Bring your loved ones out to Maropeng’s Tumulus Restaurant, one of the most picturesque venues in Gauteng, and relax while we take care of the meal.

This year will soon bow out in a blaze of glory and make room for a new decade when we enter 2020! To help you start the new year with energy and enthusiasm, Maropeng is inviting you and your fellow backpackers to its Hominin House.

In case you missed it, Stone Park at Maropeng was a blaze of colour for the second annual Cradle Colour Fest in September. Musical stars Sho Madjozi and DJ Dino Bravo we among the headlining acts at the day-long music festival.

An incredible journey has begun! For the first time ever, South African fossils from the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site have arrived in the United States of America! South Africa’s very own Australopithecus sediba (Karabo) and Homo naledi (Neo) have travelled halfway across the globe to Dallas, Texas.

The author Ayn Rand wrote that “the beauty of the human body is that it hasn’t a single muscle which doesn’t serve its purpose … there’s not a line wasted”. Find out more about the scientific marvel that is the human body at the fascinating #ANATOMY100 public outreach exhibit, which runs at Maropeng from 23 September to 5 October 2019.

It’s that time of year again, when the dry grasses of the Cradle of Humankind slowly start to turn green and we start to feel that irrepressible energy of spring. It’s also the time of year when South Africans ponder our collective and individual identities during Heritage Month.

Renowned environmentalist Vincent Carruthers launched his compelling new book at Maropeng this weekend. Carruthers and two remarkable speakers made compelling arguments for why the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site is one of the most important areas in the world when it comes to understanding the story of life itself.

Keneiloe Molopyane could best be described as a bonafide adventurer. The archaeologist and biological anthropology PhD candidate is now also the new curator of the acclaimed museum at the Maropeng Visitor Centre.

This year’s Magalies Rocks the Cradle festival offers something for everyone - from art lovers to heritage junkies to foodies.

Earlier this month, researchers at Wits University announced an amazing discovery: the fossil of a new South African dinosaur. The 200-million year old skull of Ngwevu intloko was found hidden in plain sight, mislabelled among dinosaur fossils that had been collected more than 30 years ago.

We were thrilled to host a group of young people from The Bethany House Trust in Krugersdorp recently. The visit was part Maropeng’s corporate social investment work for the year.

“The Cradle-Magaliesberg landscape is magnificent in the scope of what it tells us about evolution over all time. It is best known, of course, for the three-million-year-old hominin fossils discovered in the dolomitic caves. But there is much more to be found here than that,” says celebrated environmentalist Vincent Carruthers.

In 1976 paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey and other scientists reported that they’d found ancient hominin footprints at a site in Laetoli, northeastern Tanzania. The footprints were frozen in volcanic deposits from the Pliocene, an epoch that lasted from 5.333 million to 2.58 million years ago.

School’s out, and it’s that time of year when many parents are searching for worthwhile ways to keep their children occupied. Studies show that youngsters benefit most from holiday activities that fall into two categories.

Maropeng is hosting a truly unique exhibition. The South African History Archive’s “Struggle T-shirt exhibition” to celebrate youth month and women’s month.

Last month, in celebration of Mother’s Day, we published a blog looking at how motherhood evolved in humans. This month, to recognise dads, we decided to look at the research around fathers.

There arguably is no other place in the world that offers a stronger reminder of our common heritage than the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.

A bronze sculpture of liberation hero Ahmed Kathrada has been unveiled as part of the Long March to Freedom open-air exhibition at Maropeng.

The Cradle of Humankind’s unique tourism offering was in the spotlight in Durban last week, as a special event at Africa’s Travel Indaba was held to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of its inscription as a UNESCO-inscribed World Heritage Site.