The Museum can be defined as an institution where they collect, study and display historical, scientific and cultural objects for the public to view. There are three museums in Uganda where by Uganda museum is the one considered as the national museum. The other two are regional museum, one in Kabale and another in Soroti
History of museums could be the oldest in East Africa. The Uganda Museum’s history goes as far as 1901 when the collections of ethnographical specimens started. It was officially established in 1908. Uganda Museum was apparently known as ‘Enyumba ya mayembe’(The house of horns, charms or fetishes) and the curator was referred to as ‘Omukulu w’amayembe.’ In 1941, Mrs. Margaret Trowell, the founder of the Art school at Makerere took over duties of a curator when the museum was about to move from Old Kampala hill to Makerere the following year. The museum then moved from Makerere to Kitante hill, Kira road near Mulago hospital (1954), and its present location.
Administratively, Uganda Museum operates under the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry (MTTI), Department of Museums and Monuments. Its functions, broadly, are: Research, Education, Conservation, Documentation and Exhibition. It is divided in different sections with the following fields covered: Ethnography, Natural history, ethnohistory, independence pavilion of science and industry, Archaeology, Palaeontology and Traditional music and dance.
