Developing a 21st century museum in Kenya - Intercom · PDF fileAbstract Background In the ......

Developing a 21st century museum in Kenya

Frederick Karanja MIRARA

Abstract

BackgroundIn the introduction, I will look at the status of museums in the world and why they are

changing as witnessed by the author in many parts of the world. This will culminate with a brief

history of the Nairobi Museum in Kenya that is currently undergoing the process of change.

Planning for ChangeThe second part will look at the process of change starting with the study that identified the

need for changing the museum. The study was carried out eight years ago and formulated the

objectives and the various components of the project. The rational of the changing museum is

inbuilt in the study. An overview of the components will be indicated.

Project Implementation: Managing Change This part will look at the implementation of the project with special reference to public

programmes. The focus of the presentation will be the activities that are being undertaken. The

involvement of the stakeholders at various stages of development will be rationalised. The

development of management tools, mission and vision statements, policies, staff structures and

training will be highlighted. The section will conclude with a brief and rational of the exhibits that

are being developed. What museum are we creating?

Challenges of Implementation This section will look at the challenges that we are facing in the implementation of the

project: lack of research findings and materials for history exhibition, time constraint, shortage

of skills, and staff morale and commitment.

Conclusion Many museums are working towards making museums more accessible and relevant to the

audience, self-reliant with support from the public through gate admission fees, and hence our

efforts in Nairobi can be applied to museums in Asia.

1 INTERCOM 2006 Conference Paper


IntroductionMuseums in many parts of the world are

going through some changes. This paper will

examine the process of change going on in

the Nairobi Museum, Kenya. It will look at the

historical perspective influencing its

operations, activities and challenges that the

project is facing. Many of the challenges cut

across and may not be new. However,

differences in approach are visible as you will

note from the Nairobi experience.

Past museums set up in the 18th and 19th

centuries were referred to as the cabinet of

curiosity kept away from the main public. But

in the last century there was a radical shift

from private to public museums. The

International Council of Museum defined the

museum of the 20th century as a non-profit

making, permanent institution in the service

of the society and its development, and open

to the public, which acquires, conserves,

researches, communicates and exhibits, for

the purpose of study, education and

enjoyment, material evidence of man and his

environment. This definition has continued to

evolve to date.

There are many museums that are going

through this period of change: the Livingstone

Museum in Zambia, the House of Culture in

Tanzania, Lake Malawi Museum in Malawi

and Kelvingroves Museum in Glasgow in

Scotland. The House of Culture project in

Tanzania is being implemented in phases

from 2005 - 2008. It will be transformed into a

platform for stakeholders' partnership and

networking, creating and promoting cultural

experiences, material expression, attractive

and interactive programmes and dialogue, for

the development of present and future

generations.

The changes are motivated by many

reasons. The museums want to be relevant,

inclusive and accessible to the audience and

above all self-reliant. Museums also want to

update their exhibition methods by integrating

the modern information technology. In this

endeavour new concepts and roles of

museums are emerging. The National

Museums of Kenya is caught up in this

euphoria and like many other museums is

undergoing changes.

Setting the base: Colonial experience The Nairobi Museum started in 1909 at a

time when Kenya was going through political

changes after the scramble of Africa in

Europe. Kenya was given to Britain. It was

founded by members of the East African

Natural History Society that were mainly

colonial administrators and settlers. Like their

employer they had the agenda to rule and

gain as much as they could from the

resources that they found in Kenya. For them

to effectively rule and exploit the resources,

they had to have an in-depth knowledge of

the surrounding.

In search of knowledge they landed on the

study of the local people and their

environment. This led to the collection of

cultural and natural materials. They raised a

huge collection of material and the need for

storage arose. In this hullabaloo of myriads of

ruling and collecting the Nairobi Museum was

founded. The first building was opened to the

public in 1930. It was named Corydon

Museum, after a former colonial governor. It

is the current central hall of the Nairobi

Museum and will host the new Treasures of

Kenya exhibition in the new museum.

The Museum has gone through a process

Fig. 1: Nairobi Museum Central Hall before renovation.

Photo kind permission of National Museums of Kenya


of gradual change in time. Exhibitions and

other facilities were developed gradually.

Remarkable changes include museum

expansion in the 1950's, 1970s and 1980s.

These changes included additional buildings

either for offices, research laboratories or

exhibition, but none of this can be compared

to the current renovation. The current

renovation is literally affecting all aspects of

the Museum, and is the biggest exhibition

development undertaken in its history.

The Museum became a national institution

in 1964 when it changed its name to National

Museums of Kenya. As a national institution,

it became the centre of the development of

museums in Kenya spearheading the

development of new museums at a regional

level. This resulted in the development of

museums in Mombasa, Kisumu, Kitale,

Kapenguria, Narok, Kabarnet, Lamu and

Malindi.

Throughout its history up to 1964, the

Museum was exclusively for the members of

the East African Natural History Society.

Curators and visitors were mainly Europeans.

It was a forum for dialogue for them and

hence, colonial agent. In 1966 there was a

change and a school liaison office was

opened to cater for institutional groups. But

this was short lived as it was closed soon and

reopened in 1968. Since then education has

grown to be one of the main functions of the

Museum.

Similarly the development of the

exhibitions was in the hands of a few

individuals. Many of them were driven by

personal interests in specific fields and

produced exhibitions to a large extent for

themselves and their friends. The bird gallery

was very popular with both local and

international bird watchers. Nature

enthusiasts were their audience. No wonder

none of curators had interest in the history of

Kenya. This trend changed greatly in the

1980s and 1990s as the audience base

broadened to include the disadvantaged in

society such as street children.

Towards the change processThe momentum of change continued and

resulted to the current refurbishment going on

in the Nairobi Museum. The change is

motivated by the demand from the society

and accountability. At the national level, the

Museum is expected to participate fully in

development. The national economic

recovery report (ERC) covering 2002-2007

indicated clearly the way forward for national

development. The targets to be realized in

this period include poverty alleviation through

creation of new jobs, promotion of tourism,

agriculture and fishing, forestry and mining

development. Under the socio-economic

agenda the following were highlighted: shelter

and housing, HIV/Aids and security and law

enforcement, among others.

Through exhibitions, the Museum can

contribute to meet the objectives of ERC.

Exhibitions on HIV/AIDS can go a long way in

creating awareness of the pandemic,

biodiversity and cultural exhibitions provide

very useful information for the tourists. They

are usually the starting point for nature

enthusiasts.

At the international scene, millennium

development goals (MDGs) encapsulate the

challenges that humanity is facing today. A

few of the goals can as well be addressed

through the museum exhibitions such as

combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other

diseases, ensuring environmental

sustainability and improving maternal health

Fig. 2: Artist impression of the new Nairobi Museum.



higher income. Museums are approaching

the age of self-reliance due to the reduction

of the government contribution. Over the last

two years the government has reduced its

support to the National Museums of Kenya by

15%.

A new staff structure has been developed

and is in the process of implementation. The

structure identifies the core functions of the

museum. This includes administration,

research collection and conservation,

management of museums, sites and

monuments which includes public

programmes, and the Institute of Primate

Research, an affiliate of the Museum. It

stipulates the staff requirements, job

descriptions, experience and capacity

building.

The implementation of the project was

supposed to start in 2001 up to 2007 as per

the agreement. But due to the bureaucracy

the project started in 2004. One of the

conditions put by the donors was the passing

of the Museum and Heritage Bill and the

restructuring of the staff. This was delayed by

political development, the national elections

in 2002 and government priority. The

implementation of the new structure involves

rightsizing of the staff, ultimately laying off

some staff. This is to be funded by the

government. Again due to government

priorities, this has been delayed.

Although the project practically started in

2004, the agreement was not reviewed. This

means that it should be completed by June

2007. All the components commenced at the

same time and this has put a lot of pressure

on the museum management as activities

that were to be covered in seven years will be

done in three years. The management has to

mobilize all the available resources especially

the human, to ensure that the activities are

completed in time. The museum

management as per the agreement is

expected to provide all the necessary human

skills particularly in exhibition, education and

conservation notwithstanding the already

existing problems of the staff shortage.

Working towards viable publicprogrammes

Museums participation in development is

through its research programmes and

ensuring that the research results are

integrated in the development projects. This

is mainly done through public programmes.

Relevant research in indigenous food plants

can contribute to the eradication of extreme

poverty and hunger. This information can

reach the people by direct community

participation and through exhibitions,

publications, mass media and a host of other

communication channels.

The main mode of communication is

through exhibitions. This poses a big

challenge in the production of effective

exhibitions that will ensure a lasting impact on

the visitor. It calls for a clear understanding of

the audience, content and methodology. As

Hooper puts it, museums will only survive

through delivering opportunities that are

enjoyable, valuable, unique, and have easy

access and also related to specific target

groups.

The current wave of budget cuts in

museums requires very good and attractive

public programmes that can sustain and

attract audiences to the museums. It is in

view of this that the project was conceived

and a lot of emphasis given to public

programmes. One of the objectives is to

enhance its income generating capacity.

Each year the Nairobi Museum receives more

than 150,000 visitors. About 70% of this is

from educational institutions, as they mainly

come for education purposes.

Putting up an exhibition of any magnitude

small or big is quite a challenging task. For

the Nairobi Museum we are thinking of about

4300sq.m. This is double the size of the

previous museum before renovation.

Remember that this took more than eighty



years to complete.

The planning and preparation of the

Nairobi Museum exhibition started with the

development of guidelines in form of mission

and vision statements of the public

programmes. A workshop was held on 27th

August 2004 that developed the mission and

vision of the public programmes in the

Museum. This is currently the guiding

principles of the exhibitions:

Mission Statement

To provide the best possible access to, and

sharing of heritage with the people, through

processes and methods that reflect the needs

of the society.

Vision Statement

Public programmes will promote the

appreciation, conservation and sustainable

utilisation of our heritage.

Core values

We are committed to promoting cross-

cultural understanding and unity in diversity

We uphold inclusiveness

We pursue excellence, professionalism,

teamwork, commitment and innovation

We embrace processes that provide

lifelong learning experiences.

A visitor survey was undertaken in

November 2004 (Fig. 5). The survey was

undertaken to assess how the public felt

about the Museum, which exhibits they

enjoyed the most and how they felt the

Museum could be improved. Several types of

questionnaires were set out to find out what

the general public would like to see in the

Museum. There were individuals in-house

and out-house, groups in-house and out-

house, and a tracking grid, i.e. observing

visitor behaviour in the galleries.

The survey revealed that 78% of the

visitors are local and the rest from other

areas, with the majority from Western

Europe. Nairobi residents constitute a small

proportion of 8% of the total visitors. The

results of the survey have been very useful in

developing the exhibitions.

Concept development started with a

training programme. An expert museologist

was recruited to conduct the training. Staff

were trained in exhibition development

techniques. In a workshop in May 2005

concept development skills and management

of exhibitions in museums was developed.

The meeting also identified the thematic

areas for the new exhibitions. Later this was

to be presented to the Museum senior

managers for approval.

The climax of the process was the

workshop organized at Naru Moro near

Mountain Kenya, in July 2005. This workshop

was attended by museum senior managers

who looked at the proposed exhibition

management plan and the themes for the

new exhibition. The collection in the Museum

was considered while planning for the

exhibition. The collection is mainly cultural

and natural. These are the key pillars of the

Nairobi Museum collection.

However, there was a strong feeling from

the visitors' survey that there should be an

exhibition on the recent history of Kenya.

According to the survey, 15% of group visitors

were interested in history and geography,

while 38% indicated that they will visit again

to see historic items. It was therefore agreed

that the three thematic areas that should be

included in the new museum should be

nature, culture and history of Kenya (Fig 4).

This workshop was followed by the

establishment of the teams that are

developing the exhibitions. The teams are

headed by the Museum Directors who act as

the monitors for the activities. The others are

the educators, designers, developers and

subject specialists. The multi-disciplinary

project teams have almost all the skills

essential for exhibition development. The

teams started working in October 2005. The

teams have been working in a difficult


environment with very little input from the

senior managers and the divided time of the

content specialist who are also research

scientists of the museum, among others.

The teams have been given a huge

responsibility to produce a world class

museum within a short period. To achieve

this, the project teams have been working in

consultation with a wide range of people

through workshops, seminars and visits to

other museums to get the best exhibition

practices. Several workshops targeted at the

general public have been held. Participatory

approach has been applied contrary to the

past approach of relying on the Museum

curators and designers.

In April 2006 a public forum organized

jointly by the Kenya Museum Society and

National Museums of Kenya was held. A

presentation of the proposed museum was

given to the participants. Issues related to the

content and designs of the exhibitions were

raised in the forum. Concern was raised on

the architecture of the new museum

especially the use of pillars (Fig. 3).

Participants felt that this had no relation with

African architecture; it was more of

Mussolinian design.

Other concerns raised in the forum

included the use of the word colonial in

the history exhibition gallery. It was felt that

that word would evoke bad memories of the

colonial rule in Kenya. Another participant

was concerned about the language and felt

that language was central to unity and

suggested the use of the local languages.

This is a good idea but if implemented would

not enhance understanding and appreciation

of the values of the 42 communities in Kenya.

Fig. 3: New Museum Entrance with pillars under

construction. Photo: Fredrick Karanja

Fig. 4: The overall framework of the exhibition. Kind permission of the National Museums of Kenya

NATIONAL HERITAGE

Heritage

Cultural Natural

NATURE

CULTURE

HISTORY

History



We use English as the national language of

instruction. However we are encouraging the

use of local languages with translation.

The issue of inclusiveness was also raised.

One participant suggested that the Kenyan

communities should be represented in the

Museum. This is being addressed through

selection of items from diverse communities.

For example in the Circle of Life exhibition,

the Celebration of Life section is represented

by objects from different communities.

Equitable representation is our guiding

principle.

The issue of temporary and permanent

exhibitions was raised by one participant was

felt that when he visited the Museum while in

school saw the same exhibition he saw when

he brought his young son and wondered at

what stage it will change. In the course of

museum-in-change programme, this issue

has been addressed through an exhibition

policy.

The policy proposes that the permanent

exhibition should have a life span of ten years

ideally. Planning for changes should start

then. Attempts should be made to incorporate

research findings. The temporary exhibition

should have a life span of not more than six

months and not less than two months. This

does not rule out maintenance work as this is

a routine work for the curator. A more

comprehensive exhibition operational manual

is under preparation. Children enjoyment is

catered for in the new museum. Children or

interactive corners have been set aside for

their activities.

The project has recognized the need for

training the staff by organizing seminars and

workshops, incorporating training elements in

the activities, and exposing them to other

museums. In 2005 some members visited

Malawi and had the opportunity to see some

museums that have been refurbished recently

such as the Lake Malawi Museum. The team

also attended the Commonwealth Association

of Museums Conference whose focus was

planning programmes for children in the

museums.

In April/May 2006, some members of the

exhibition team visited a few Museums in

Britain in an effort to borrow ideas on

exhibition development. The team learnt a lot

from the visit. They visited the British Natural

History Museum, the British Museum, the

Imperial War Museum, the London Museum,

the Britain at War Museum and the Horniman

Museum in London, and the Liverpool

Museum of World Cultures and the Maritime

Museum in Liverpool.

The visit was an eye-opener and gave an

insight into the planning and preparation of

natural, cultural and historical exhibitions.

Use of life size models and dioramas in

exhibitions was common in many museums

that were visited. Creating effective

interactive centres was another common

feature such as the Hand Base at Horniman

Museum. The Centre has cultural items that

include music instruments, costumes and

masks, among others that visitors can try on

their own.

Working with experts and consultants has

been critical to ensure that quality work is

produced. Within the project Management

Unit there is a permanent museologist

working with the team Museum Advisor. The

role of the Advisor is to provide professional

guidance in all stages of the exhibition

development.

Experts in various fields are engaged on a

consultancy basis. Workshops are organized

to solicit their input. In July 2006,

distinguished historians from four local

universities were invited for a two days

workshop on the history exhibition. The

workshop responded to some of the issues

raised during the public forum and also

assisted in setting the bases for developing

the storyline of the exhibition. It is worth

noting that the workshop was honoured by

the presence of a world renowned expert in

African history from Oxford University in the

United Kingdom, Dr. David Anderson.


In July and September 2006, educationists

and curators from within the Museum and

outside were invited for a forum to discuss

the forthcoming exhibitions. The educationist

came from secondary schools and education

management institutions. Of special mention

is the Kenya Institute of Special Education

that trains teachers for the disabled. This was

represented in the workshop.

This shows our concern for developing

exhibitions accessible to all including the

disabled. In the renovated museum, there are

ramps that link all the exhibitions. Visitors in

wheelchairs will now move around the

exhibitions with ease. Later a very informative

document on how to develop programmes for

the disabled was presented to the exhibition

teams. As we develop the exhibitions, we are

borrowing a lot from this.

Additional facilities include a shopping

complex with shops, hotels and accessibility

to the Bank through ATMs. These are

accessible without paying admission fees.

There is also a large visitor centre with ample

storage for visitors'' luggage. Next to the

shopping mail is space for outdoor exhibits

and resting.

The immense task of exhibition

development is seen in the split of the original

three exhibitions into many galleries. The

exhibitions will fit into twelve galleries. The

theme of nature has been split into five

galleries: Natural Diversity, Adaptive

Radiation, Geology, Human Origins and

Ecology; Culture has four galleries: Intro into

History and Culture, Circle of Life, Cultural

Dynamism, and Contemporary Art and the

History of Kenya gallery. This does not

include the exhibition spaces set aside for

temporary exhibitions.

The History gallery has four main sections:

pre-1895 or Kenya before Kenya, 1896 -

1920 Invasion and Resistance, 1921 - 1963

Who owns Kenya, and 1963 - 2002

Independent Kenya. The planning of this

exhibition is extremely challenging.

It is more concept-led than object-led as

there are very few historical collections and

no research base in the museum. Only a few

photographs and documents are available in

the Museum Archive. All the work going on is

dependent on external support. Historians

from local universities have been hired on a

temporary basis to provide information and

assist in script writing.

The experience of putting up history

exhibitions in Kenya, especially the Nairobi

Museum is limited with very bad memories.

The first attempt was a temporary exhibition

on the struggle for independence. Due to the

lack of a clear policy the exhibition that was

put up to celebrate the independence of the

country turned out to be a permanent

exhibition for more than twenty years. It was

removed in 1996 with the aim of improving it.

This was never done.

Later in 1998, the Asian community in

Nairobi put up an exhibition on Asian African

Heritage. This was a community project,

initiated, developed and maintained by them.

Individuals contributed objects, planning and

preparation was done by the Asians and

guided tours were conducted by them. The

community was also responsible for raising

funds. The exhibition was to be a temporary

exhibition for six months. The owners literary

refused to remove it.

The current museum-in-change project

saved the situation and it was finally

removed. The objects and photographs on

display were returned to the owners. But they

insisted that they should be given a

permanent space for the exhibition. The

community has promised to contribute

funding to that space where again only Asian

African materials would be displayed. This

raises a lot of issues on integration and

representation of communities. It also defeats

the purpose of the exhibition of enhancing

unity in diversity. This is yet to be finalised.

For the history exhibition, plans are to

collect objects through donations and maybe



buying. Production of dioramas based on

photographs will also be done. The other big

challenge is to avoid a photographic

exhibition with too much text as photographs

are abundant.

The storylines for most exhibitions are

complete and the selection of objects has

started. At the same time design work has

commenced. Installation work for some

exhibitions is expected to commence in

January, 2007.

Challenges facing the teamsNegative attitude of the public towards

some aspects, namely the Origin of Man

exhibition. Kenya being predominantly a

Christian country, some religious groups

are opposed to the presence of the Origin

of Man exhibition. They contend that it is

against Christian teaching.

Lack of experts in some areas such as

taxidermists, designers and historians.

Staff changes and shortages caused by

resignation, study leave and search for

greener pastures.

Time constraints caused by the

bureaucracy, delay in processing

requirements, donor fatigue/syndrome.

Lack of readily available management tools

such as mission, vision, exhibition

management structures, and policies.

There were no policies governing the

development of an exhibition

Lack of experience in handling such large

scale projects. The Museum's exhibitions in

the past were put up piecemeal. Small

exhibitions holding about 156 objects were

taking more than one year to complete i.e.

Hazina exhibition, a joint exhibition between

the British Museum and the Nairobi

Museum.

Museums are not a priority in the

government's plan of action. The Museum

and Heritage Bill has taken a very long

period to become an Act since it was

introduced in Parliament.

Lack of suitable collection/objects for

exhibitions. Objects used in the past

exhibitions require extensive restoration

work and some of them are beyond repair.

The development of the history exhibition is

the most critical. The Museum has no

collection or research results; hence it has

to rely on external resources.

Resistance to change by the staff and the

public. They were not prepared to handle

the changes. This has led to mistrust and

sometimes to infighting. This has greatly

affected the progress of the activities.

Despite all the challenges the preparations

of the exhibitions are at an advanced stage.

Design sessions have already started and

installation is expected to start in January

2007.

ConclusionThe new millennium holds a very bright

future for museums. The future audience is

increasingly interested in learning and aware

of the availability of resources in the

museums. But equally, they are also sensitive

to high quality services, hence a big

challenge. Museums must continually keep

on changing in response to changing

audience's needs and tastes. The age of

museums as a place of dusty objects is long

gone. They have a crucial role to play in

development at all levels: international,

national and local.

ReferencesNairobi Museum Visitor Survey. Final report. (2004/2005, June 2005). Nairobi, Kenya.

National Museums of Kenya Support Programme- Work Programme No. 1

National Museums of Kenya Support Programme - Work Plan 2, (2005, Sep 1 - 2006, Aug 31). Action Plan and Budget,

Nairobi.


Museum in change. Newsletter, Issues. No. 1, 4 and 5, (2006). Nairobi, Kenya.

Natural Sciences Collection Association (NatSCA). U. K. News. Issue 9, (2006, July).

Sunday Nation Newspaper. Nairobi, Kenya. (2006, Sep 17).

Newsletter of the International Council of Museums. ICOM News, vol. 58, 2005- No.4, Paris, France.

ICOM International Committee on Management. Study Series, No 12, Intercom, 2006. Paris, France.

National Museums of Kenya Support Programme, Work Programme No.1: Museums Basics Exhibition Development

Workshop. (2005, Apr 18 -22).

Interview with the Director General, National Museums of Tanzania and Leaflet: National Museum and Culture Project,

Tanzania. (2005, Sep).

Gene, A. (1989). Museum and galleries: A teachers' handbook. p3. Hutchson, London, U.K.

Khwezi ka Mpumlwana, Gerard Corsane, Juanita Pastor-Mukhurane and Ciraj Rassool. (2002). Inclusion and the

power of presentation: South African Museums and the cultural politics of social transformation. in Richard Sandell

(Ed.), Museums, society, inequality. London, Routledge.

Report of the workshop Exhibition Concept Development and Management for Nairobi Museum. Naro Moru,

Kenya. (2005, Jul 24-27). Nairobi, Kenya.

Report of the public debate on new exhibitions. (2006, Apr 11). Louis Leakey Memorial Building, Nairobi Museum,

Kenya.

Annual feport. National Museums of Kenya Support Programme. 1st September 2005 - 31st August, 2006. 8ACP KE009.

Visit by the author to Livingstone Museum in Zambia, Lake Malawi Museum in Malawi, and participating in the NCTSA

Conference in Liverpool, U.K. Many presentations from different Museums in the U.K. described the refurbishment

going on in their museums.

Hooper-Greenhill, E. (1994). The past and the present and the future: Museum education from 1790s to the 1990s. In

Hooper-Greenhill. (ed.) The educational role of the museum. London, U.K., Routledge.

About the authorMr. Frederick Karanja Mirara is a Kenya citizen by birth, born in 1953 and married with three children. He started

schooling in 1960 and joined Kenyatta College (today Kenyatta University) in 1970. In 1990/91, he attended Leicester

University in U.K for a Masters in Arts. In 1996/97, he went to Osaka, Japan for a certificate course in Museum

Management Technology. In addition to formal education, he has attended numerous short courses in museology,

communication, fundraising and public relations.

Mr. Mirara started his career as an educationist in 1974 and taught history and religious education up to 1980 when

he joined the museum as an Education Officer based in Nairobi Museum. His work in the museum entailed organizing

education programmes for school groups and general public.

In 1991, he was given administrative work of the Museum's Education Department. For the next ten years, he was in-

charge of recruitment, training, initiating and supervising the education projects in all the museums in Kenya. Education

projects objective is to enhance access to the museum collection and research findings. Some of the projects included

travelling exhibitions. Exhibitions travelled to as far as Russia, United Kingdom, Japan, Poland, Czechoslovakia and

Hungary, among others.

Some of the programmes that he organized and raised funds for included Children Science in the Museum -

collecting traditional toys through a competition and putting an exhibition of the toys; Early Man and Environment -

collecting art work from students and selecting the best for mass production to distribute to schools; editing and

producing books and leaflets for visitors and schools such as Biological Techniques, A Poster and Handbook on

Wetlands and Appreciating Evolution . Individually, he has authored the publication A Guide to Gikuyu Culture:

Gikuyu Homestead and numerous leaflets on pottery, calabashes, among others. Some of his papers have been

published in international journals.

Mr. Mirara has organized many international conferences on children programmes in museums in Africa under the

auspices of the Commonwealth Association of Museums (CAM) in 1997 in Kenya and 2004 in Malawi. Currently Group

of Children in African Museums (GCAM) is working on a travelling exhibition on peace. As a Council member of CAM,

he is involved in the planning and preparation of the exhibition. As a Board member of ICOM Committee of Education

and Cultural Action (CECA), 2000 - 2004, he participated in the planning of CECA activities. He has attended many

international Conferences.

In June, 2004, Mr. Mirara was seconded to the National Museums Support Programme as the Manager, Public

Programmes Coordination Team. The project is funded by European Union and has four main components;

infrastructure, Heritage bill, public programmes for Nairobi Museum and staff restructuring. He is coordinating the public

programmes. He has facilitated the development of a Museum Public Programme policy and strategy, marketing

strategy, exhibition and conservation policies, among others.


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