Conceptualised by a team of academics and designers from Wits University, the museum aims to provide visitors with a unique experience of Africa’s rich, complex heritage. The Origins Centre boasts an extensive collection of rock art from the Wits Art Research Institute. At the centre visitors can see the earliest images made by humans, found in South Africa.

The journey through the museum is coloured by carefully thought out themes that affect the content and tone of each section. The kiosks offer visitors to the centre a range of documentaries and videos available for viewing related to the theme. There are interviews with archaeologists, Bushmen, representatives of indigenous communities and other footage. The system is also setup to allow the user to email items of interest to themselves. There was also a kiosk where visitors could learn about our origins and our motto. They could then take a photo of themselves that gets loaded onto a looping projection showing other videos and loops of peoples faces.

An adventure game was also created for the younger visitors. The game is set inside a virtual version of the physical museum. The hero of the game is Thandi – a sassy archaeology student. She progresses through the game by answering questions and solving puzzles, the answers to these are all within the museum itself. It’s an entertaining game that delights children while teaching them how to learn things for themselves.