kisimu museum

Our local host took my wife and me to the Kisumu Museum. It's a sort of campus of several buildings and outdoor areas.First we visited a building that contained taxidermy specimens of local animals, as well as artifacts and models of Luo people. It was interesting, with minimal interpretive signs. The room badly needed a thorough dusting.Nearby is an aquarium building with small, dark tanks showing the local Lake Victoria fish.There's a Luo family compound. A Luo family lives in a collection of small buildings. Our local host explained that there is a pattern to the placement of the buildings--the patriarch, each wife, and each son. A skilled observer can tell how many wives and sons a Luo man has just by glancing at the arrangement of buildings. If you don't have the opportunity to get out into the countryside and visit real Luo compounds (which we did in our work around Kisumu), this will give you a fine sense of how it feels, except that it's rather sterile without people living there.Outside there are some tortoises and crocodiles to visit, and a small building showing several kinds of snakes. These are all live, unlike the stuffed critters in the first building.This is no world-class museum, but if you have an hour or two and would like a glimpse of the human and natural history around Kisumu, this is worth a stop.

Kisumu is filled with diversity and i love their culture their traditions are interesting as well. I enjoyed the story behind every animal and every space at that museum. The guides were patient and answered my questions

A museum where you can see the roots of the Kenyan culture. You can enter and touch the Luo huts and artifacts unlike some other museum where you need to watch everything behind a fence or a glass. You can also take look at the crocodiles and snakes as well as the inside exhibition.

Kisumu museum have one of the best galleries that is excellent. I like the way they bring out the African culture and instruments plus tools.

I would have rated this "good" but that rating wasn't available. It has some interesting local history and traditional houses. If you are in Kisumu, it's worth a few hours of your time.

Unfortunately this place is run down, there is not much to see, looks quite deserted and I doubt the welfare of the fish in the tiny aquariums!? I walked around the villages and got instruction to visit the first wife's house which is the tradition and only to discover the hut had been destroyed, maybe by rain? I was terribly boring. Not worth visiting.

kisumu museum is the place for those who want to learn so much about their culture .i learnt about so much that i never knew .they however should consider expanding their snake park as well as visibility ,that area is so dark.they should also get more guides who are a bit knowledgeable with regards to tradition i guess old men would be better here than young men.

We had a great time discovering everything there is to see in the museum.From huts, to animals. We watch a snake sucking all the body fluids from a chameleon...poor thing.Educative for kids as well. Butterflies, minerals etc. exposed.

the kids wanted to see more action.. not stuffed animals.. the croc was alive, just, and the birds in the trees were lovley.. but that is all. a waste of time in my opinion.

I was able to learn a bit of the culture, the homestead and the snakes. However, it is not so interesting, not so much information, and do not have a lot of traditional art and crafts. There was also an art and jewelry exhibition, and I was able to talk to the artist, which is the most interesting part of the visit.

I loved the snakes and the crocodiles (turns out the snake I picked up out of my tent was a puff adder-who knew?!!!) The history, tools and languages of the indigenous people and tribes was very informative.

Kisumu is right on the banks of the Victoria Lake so is home to a variety of people but the Luo are the resident people and the museum is a great place to experience their culture from the past when you visit the mock village and read the stories written there. Also a great display of animals and cultural history with in the great Hall. It costs around $A10.00 to get in but its worth a look.

A visit to Kisumu museum was good. I viewed snake and I was amazed by a very large python, sand vipers and others. The gallery was exciting though it is very small. The traditional houses showed signs of disrepair as rain water had leaked to the walls and some traditional stores had collapsed.Generally I enjoyed the visit but was concerned about the poor maintenance of the facility.

Needs a bit of updating, and work, but it's great museum considering it's location and access to resources. I learned more about Luo culture going through the exhibits than I had in the previous months living in town. The fish tanks needs some love, but the other animal exhibits are fun.

Very informative and interesting. The entrance fee is 500shilling and it is worth visiting if you have 1-2 hours you need to spend. There is a lot of information about the region and its tribes, including an aquarium with the fish found in lake Victoria and the sorrounding area as well as snakes, crocodiles and turtles.