About National Museums of Kenya

NMK Entrance

National Museums of Kenya (NMK) is a state corporation established by an Act of Parliament, the Museums and Heritage Act 2006. NMK is a multi-disciplinary institution whose role is to collect, preserve, study, document and present Kenya’s past and present cultural and natural heritage.  This is for the purposes of enhancing knowledge, appreciation, respect and sustainable utilization of these resources for the benefit of Kenya and the world, for now and posterity. NMK’s mutual concern for the welfare of mankind and the conservation of the biological diversity of the East African region and that of the entire planet demands success in such efforts.  NMK is also undertaking the Barcode of Wildlife Project Kenya with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

 
In addition, NMK manages many Regional Museums, Sites and Monuments of national and international importance alongside priceless collections of Kenya’s living cultural and natural heritage. As an institution that must respond to the growing needs of the society, NMK is striving to contribute in a unique way to the task of national development.

The history of the institution dates back in 1910 when a museum was established in Nairobi by the then East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society [currently the East African Natural History Society (EANHS)]. The group consisted mainly of colonial settlers and naturalists who needed a place to keep and preserve their collections of various specimens. Its first site was at the present Nyayo House. The site soon became small and a larger building was put up in 1922 where the Nairobi Serena Hotel stands.

The expansion of its mandate and the staff numbers coupled with the dynamic environment in which NMK operates has put enormous challenges for the institution. In order to keep abreast with changes in the environment in which it is operating, NMK had to redefine its operations to become more responsive to the changing circumstances. This meant moving towards developing museum as a place where people from all walks of life meet and have dialogue on various socio-economic issues.  It called for NMK to develop programmes that promote cultural dynamism in order to build a sense of nationhood and belonging.

NMK’s vision is “To be a global leader in heritage, research and management’ with core Mission “To promote the conservation and sustainable utilization of national heritage through generation, documentation and dissemination of research and collection management knowledge, information and innovations”.

NMK houses one of the most unique and diverse collections in the world. The collections are categorized into two major areas that include Natural History and Cultural/History/Musicological.

Research: NMK undertakes research based on cultural and natural history in various fields as well as research in biomedical and bio- conservation in collaboration with other research and development institutions. For this reason, NMK has the mandate to preserve/ conserve all its collections which range from tangible to intangible, move and immovable, in-situ and ex-situ. NMK also synthesizes the information generated from research and collections and presents the same to the public for the purpose of raising awareness and learning amongst the general population through exhibitions, education programmes and other multimedia channels.