The Best Museums to Visit in Ghana

In 1957, Ghana won independence from the British and became a sovereign state, the first of its kind in the sub-region, taking control of its affairs, resources and development. Dr Kwame Nkrumah was one of the men at the heart of the struggle for independence, being the country’s first prime minister and president.

Following his death, this museum was built to honour his legacy and house his mortal remains, books, artefacts and other items linked to his life. Visitors are taken through the history of the pan-African struggle as well and gain first-hand knowledge of his contributions and that of other African leaders like Patrice Lumumba and Julius Nyerere.

It continues to be a major destination for tourists eager to understand the role of Ghana in shaping post-colonial history.

If you yearn for a more comprehensive outlook on the ancient and modern history of Ghana, then the National Museum in Accra is the place to go. The National Museum of Ghana was established in 1957 and is the ultimate repository of knowledge on the various cultural elements of the people of Ghana, including their languages, chieftaincy systems, foods, dressing and handicraft.

The museum is divided into three primary sections: Ethnography, Archaeology and Arts. The Arts section houses the works of famous Ghanaian contemporary artists like El Anatsui and Ablade Glover. You can also spend time in the museum’s splendid sculpture garden.

The Museum of Science and Technology is located just a few metres from the National Museum. It displays artefacts that embody Ghana’s scientific development, from pre-colonial times to the present. Visitors can find everything from primitive hand-axes and other simple farm tools to complex machinery like helicopters and bamboo bicycles, engineered and built by Ghanaians.

The museum also serves as the venue for the final exhibition for graduating students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s School of Fine Art, where some of the finest contemporary fine arts and performance arts are on display.

Ghana’s historical significance does not end with pan-Africanism and the leaders across the continent who inspired the movement; it also extends to the African diaspora. African-American scholar and pan-Africanist William Edward Burghardt “W.E.B.” Du Bois moved to Ghana in the 1950s to help build the new nation at the request of Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

His museum at the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre memorialises this relationship between Africans at home and the diaspora. Visitors can expect to find his books, speeches, pictures and other articles, as well as those of other key figures such as Marcus Garvey and George Padmore.

The Manhyia Palace Museum was built to catalogue and share the illustrious history of the Ashanti, one of history’s most dominant West African empires. The museum, located in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest and most populous city, houses various priceless artefacts dating back to the height of the Ashanti empire. Visitors can also explore the birth of the empire through various video installations.

All in all, this is an excellent place to dive into the expansive wealth of knowledge that was born from the Ashanti empire.