By Sandile Mahlangu

The North-West University (NWU) Museum celebrated International Museum Day on 18 May at the NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus.

With this day being celebrated across the globe every year, the museum decided to do things a little differently. To celebrate its rich history, they introduced an exhibition on the ground level of the museum picturing historical residences, academic societies and student structures, and displaying tools such as typewriters that had been used in the 20th century, different NWU mascots and different graduation gowns. The display was integrated with the history of the area from 1895 to 2003, and included the desk, chair, and typewriter of Ferdinand Postma, a former rector of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education and focused on the impact of the late leader of the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana, Kgosi Lucas Mangope.

The senior records officer of the NWU Museum, Eric Swanepoel, mentioned that it is important for the University to preserve its history and use it as the benchmark for its transformation.

“Over the years we went from being a predominantly Afrikaans institution dating back to the days of the Transvaal to the inclusive and still transforming institution of today. We would not know where we are going if we do not know where we come from. The NWU Museum helps to teach students where we come from, the foundations of the institution, and why certain things in the past were done in a certain way,” he said.

With coffee and tea served at the point of entry to the museum, the students were encouraged to engage with some of the items that were included in the exhibition, such as the different graduation gowns, typewriters, and the formal wear of the student representatives at the time. They were also encouraged to take pictures in the robes.

“We recently decided that it is important for the students to engage with the items of clothing by putting them on, as it is something that other museums do not do,” added Swanepoel.

One of the students who attended the celebration, Tlhalefo Mpotsoe, said that she enjoyed the exhibition and thinks that it will be a great learning experience for students to visit the museum in between classes.

“I enjoyed the experience and with Swanepoel taking us through the museum, it made it easy for us to understand the context of the items that were displayed. The museum is a great experience to kill time between classes while you are learning about your institution,” said Mpotsoe.

In closing, Swanepoel mentioned that he wishes that students would come and visit the museum often and learn to understand the history of the University, as they usually have different exhibitions. The museum is scheduled for renovations, and they hope to have more space to display more items after the renovations.

“There are many items that we did not include in the display, and I believe that the more students visit the museum, the more opportunities they will get to see and learn about our institution. This will help make students understand that we are constantly changing things for the better,” he concluded

Eric Swanepoel speaking to students about Ferdinand Postma’s office furniture.