The Livingstone Museum!

What Is the Livingstone Museum?

This is Zambia’s oldest and largest museum, dating back to 1934!

What Makes It Historical?

In 1930, British Secretary of Native Affairs, Herbert J. Taylor, convinced the colonial government of Rhodesia that it was important to start collecting cultural items from the surrounding tribes who were quickly becoming more and more European. Four years later, that collection opened for display in the former Magistrate’s Court building as the David Livingstone Memorial Museum! It moved in 1937 to the former United Services Club building then settled into its current Spanish-style building by Major W.J. Roberts in 1951. Added to this collection in 1939 were the relics of Cecil Rhodes (namesake of Rhodesia) and the British South African Company!

When I visited the Livingstone Museum, I walked in past a vivacious percussion performance, and after being advised not to take photos inside, explored the archaeology wing and its ancient stone tools and the natural history wing with its dioramas of Zambian wildlife! At the center of the exhibits was an immersive “Our Village,” which not only showed traditional life in the local villages but also delved into the complexities of tradition versus “progress!” Some folks saw village life as primitive or backward, while others saw it as the only place to be content in a rushing world!

And of course, in a Livingstone Museum, there was a gallery about David Livingstone, with his jacket, hat, surgical tools, and other accessories! He was not only a medical doctor but also a missionary and explorer, who charted routes across central Africa and published frequently about the horrors of slavery that he witnessed! He was the first European to see Mosi-oa-Tunya and name it Victoria Falls, and the first to cross southern Africa to the mouth of the Zambezi in May of 1856! On Dr. Livingstone’s final quest, for the source of the Nile, he went quiet for many months, prompting journalist, Henry Stanley, to seek him out and famously greet him on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in October 1871 with “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
Volunteer at the Livingstone Museum!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!