A memorable experience at Maropeng

Prehistoric humans, fossils and a glimpse of earth thousands of years ago kept the pupils of Monaghan Montessori School enthralled as they recently toured Maropeng’s Visitor Centre.

Maropeng, in the heart of the Cradle of Humankind in Hekpoort offers exciting tours and accommodation for school goers of all ages.

“Each guided tour at the visitor centre takes roughly an hour to complete and can accommodate groups of 35 children,”explains Magel van der Venter, customer relations manager at Maropeng.

Pupils of Monaghan Montessori began their journey of discovery of the origins of humankind with an introduction to Maropeng and its major themes of evolution, diversity, sustainability and the unique characteristics of being human.

They then descended into the depths of the earth taking a boat ride back in time through the four elements – earth, air, fire and water, before entering a swirling vortex, and emerging in front of planet Earth projected on a giant globe.

Here they could see the continents – as we know them today – came to be.

Next, they enjoyed the large interactive zone where some of the science relating to the study of evolution is demonstrated in fun, giant displays including the formation of fossils, DNA, and life on earth. The next section highlights various species in hominid evolution. The tour ended with an original fossil display.

“It is always exciting to have pupils in our Visitor Centre,” said Van de Venter. “To see them enjoying the interactive display and being intrigued by the fossils is great fun.”

“Thank you to Maropeng and our wonderful guide for making our visit so memorable. The guide made it all so interesting and enticed the children into the discussions, which is so important as there was a lot of information to absorb. We will definitely be back,” said Xanthe Bester, owner of Monaghan Montessori School.

Maropeng is a stone’s throw from the Sterkfontein Caves and schools can book for the Maropeng tour, which covers the Visitor Centre as well as the Sterkfontein Cave tours. These can be booked as stand-alone or as combination tours at a discounted rate.

“It’s great to know that these pupils walk away with a richer understanding of our past. I know that our next generation of young palaeo-scientists will come from these school tour groups and it encourages me to see them leaving our centre, feeling proud and inspired and, above all, having had lots of fun,” concluded Van de Venter.

Details: Maropeng Visitor Centre 011 577 9000, www.maropeng.co.za