Musée National Boubou Hama is the national museum of

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, located in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

. It was founded in 1959 as Musée National du Niger. Its first conservator, Pablo Toucet, designed the concept of the museum, according to which it was part of the Culture Valley of Niamey, proposed by Boubou Hama. Adjacent to the museum, also part of the Valley, are the Franco-Nigerien Cultural Center and the Center of Linguistic and Historical Studies by Oral Tradition. The museum is located in a park, it consists of a cultural and a scientific section and a zoo. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions. The park is popular as a recreational area. Most of the exhibits represent ethnological,

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, and cultural artifacts. In particular, the museum shows traditional dwellings of different Nigerien cultures. As of 2013, 170,000 visitors visited the museum annually. The museum contains the remains of the Tree of Tenere. The directors of the museum have been: * Pablo Toucet (1959–1974); * Albert Ferral (1974–1990); * Mahamadou Kélessi (1990–1992); * Mariama Hima (1992–1996); * Mahamadou Kélessi (1996–1999); * Chaïbou Néino (1999–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musee National Boubou Hama Museums in Niger Ethnographic museums in Africa Buildings and structures in Niamey Museums established in 1959 1959 establishments in Africa Neo-Sudanic architecture in Africa National museums