Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium
The materials/artifacts in the museum are quite incredible. The problem though is that the museum lacks intellectual honesty and equal perspective from the Congolese people. The museum favors colonialism and is very white washed. The lack of authentic language and ownership of the atrocities done towards the Congolese people is atrocious.
It's entrance fee is not cheap, but worth enough. There are plenty of things to see. It's garden is fantastic and very good to go for a picnic ;)
Amazing collection in a renovated glorious building. You'll spend at least 3 hours there, there is so much to see and learn! The interactive sections should be improved though, headphones weren't working, screens were off, the virtual reality sets broken..And not enough staff to help the visitors.
A visitor could be forgiven for not noticing that Congo was one of the most brutal colonies. The way the history is (not) shown is appalling. What was the point of the long renovation?
I did not like it. The ticket is 12 euros and be warned that the restaurant is VERY overpriced. They have a cafeteria but no possibility to pay by card. Cloakroom self-service, bring some coins because the people in the store will not want to give you change. It seems that it is only half open, audio-guides do not seem to work, there was an alarming lack of staff (was it too much to put someone helping with the cloakroom and audio-guides?) and a high percentage of unfriendly workers (with some exceptions, though). About the collection itself, I have mixed feelings. First, it's not an African Museum. It is a museum about Congo, Burundi and Rwanda, old Belgian colonies, and the visit was created in my opinion for definitely white visitors. It seems a strange, messy combination of ethnographic objects, natural sciences stuff and an attempt to give a critical view of the Belgian colonisation. Result? Not enough information in any of these areas. Disappointing for a museum which has been recently renovated.
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