News - Maropeng

Pro­fes­sor Ron Clarke talked to us about the sig­nif­i­cance of the most com­plete Aus­tralo­p­ithe­cus skele­ton ever found. ​“Lit­tle Foot” was unveiled at Maropeng for an event on the side­lines of the BRICS Sum­mit last week.

A strik­ing bal­let per­for­mance, a whirl­wind vir­tu­al tour and his­toric hand­prints were all part of a spe­cial BRICS event at Maropeng. The vis­it via satel­lite link was includ­ed in the BRICS Sum­mit, which took place in Johan­nes­burg this week.

Win­ter is in full swing and will be with us for some time. But while it may be icy out there, that’s real­ly no rea­son to hiber­nate. You’re invit­ed to come out and play. Come and vis­it the Cra­dle of Humankind to try out the fol­low­ing five fun things to do this winter.

The dig­i­tal age has many ben­e­fits, but have we con­sid­ered the way increas­ing amounts of screen time affect our health and wellbeing?

From a trail run, to the East­er bun­ny to a Mad Hatter’s Tea Par­ty — we have a series of spe­cial treats lined up for you this Easter.

Enjoy a Valentine’s Day get­away to one of the most his­toric and beau­ti­ful des­ti­na­tions in Gaut­eng. It’s bound to be memorable.

If you’re try­ing to find ways to keep that ​“get fit” New Year’s res­o­lu­tion, per­haps the best way is to find enjoy­able activ­i­ties to break up those reg­u­lar gym vis­its. Here’s one fun fit­ness activ­i­ty to diarise for the end of January …

Why cook on Christ­mas Day? Come enjoy a sump­tu­ous Christ­mas lunch, while enjoy­ing spec­tac­u­lar views at the Tumu­lus Restau­rant, where we’ve got a spe­cial, fes­tive spread for you.

As the hol­i­day sea­son approach­es, vis­i­tors from around the world are plan­ning their trips to top attrac­tions like Maropeng and the Sterk­fontein Caves. Here’s how you can have the best expe­ri­ence possible …

As the weath­er warms up, and the sun gets its day start­ed a lit­tle ear­li­er, it’s per­haps the best time of year to dust off those run­ning shoes. If you’re look­ing for a unique space to get in some exer­cise, and some great views, look no further.

Maropeng’s skill at host­ing world-class events received a nod in the provin­cial leg of the 2017 Lilizela Tourism Awards. The vis­i­tor cen­tre bagged the award for best four-star meet­ings, exhi­bi­tions and spe­cial events venue.

Who hasn’t, at some point, want­ed to wan­der around a muse­um at night? Now’s your chance – Maropeng is host­ing its first-ever Night at the Muse­um, and there are some unmiss­able tricks and treats in store for you.

We pre­dict that a vis­it to Tumu­lus restau­rant is going to be irre­sistible this Her­itage Day. We’re cook­ing up a storm of tra­di­tion­al foods that your taste­buds will not want to miss.

The Maropeng Vis­i­tor Cen­tre has been announced as a win­ner of a cov­et­ed Trip​Ex​pert​.com Experts’ Choice award, based on reviews by jour­nal­ists and trav­el writ­ers from around the world.

We’ll be launch­ing a series of free pub­lic lec­tures at Maropeng dur­ing the upcom­ing Mag­a­lies Rocks the Cra­dle fes­ti­val. The inau­gur­al event of the Maropeng Talks Series will fea­ture a lead­ing South African cli­ma­tol­o­gist, a mil­i­tary-his­to­ry expert and a promi­nent environmentalist.

Vis­i­tors are in for a treat when they head to the Cra­dle of Humankind from 25 to 27 August this year. It’s the sec­ond-ever Mag­a­lies Rocks the Cra­dle fes­ti­val, and it offers every­thing from craft-beer tast­ings to art exhi­bi­tions and quad biking.

If ever there was an exhi­bi­tion to spark a child’s (and an adult’s) imag­i­na­tion about where we come from, it’s Almost Human, at the Maropeng Vis­i­tor Centre.

Watch local sta­tion, Joburg Today’s, take on the brand-new exhi­bi­tion that’s just opened at Maropeng.

If you’ve ever won­dered what it’s like to be an ​“under­ground astro­naut”, unlock­ing the secrets of the ori­gins of human­i­ty, now’s your chance.

Sci­en­tists and researchers are busy putting fin­ish­ing touch­es on a world-first exhi­bi­tion set to be unveiled at Maropeng on Thurs­day. The Almost Human exhi­bi­tion will be the largest-ever pub­lic dis­play of hominin fos­sils in the world.

East­er at Maropeng is always an eggc­it­ing expe­ri­ence, espe­cial­ly for the lit­tle ones, and it makes for a remark­able fam­i­ly day out with plen­ty of activ­i­ties for adults, too. This East­er, while egg hunts and catch­ing up with the East­er bun­ny keep the kids enter­tained, the grown-ups can enjoy a beer gar­den, a live out­door the­atre per­for­mance and love­ly meals cre­at­ed by our gas­tron­o­my trained Exec­u­tive Chef Peter Langa.

The Cra­dle of Humankind is the one place from which all of humankind orig­i­nat­ed – how fit­ting then that the Palaeon­to­log­i­cal Sci­en­tif­ic Trust’s All from One exhi­bi­tion and cam­paign has extend­ed its stay at Maropeng until the end of April.

Whether you believe in the pow­er of the stars and plan­ets or are one of those who sim­ply enjoys mar­vel­ling at the night sky while pon­der­ing the sci­ence of it all, the fact is that astron­o­my has had a very real impact on human minds.

Maropeng is pleased to announce the launch of its fire­side talks, with the first talk fea­tur­ing Madeleine Fullard, head of the Miss­ing Per­sons Task Team (MPTT) in the Nation­al Pros­e­cut­ing Author­i­ty. Her talk, titled ​“Search­ing for lost bones. Bring­ing the lost ones home,” will take place on Wednes­day 15 June.