The Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretive Centre is a unique interactive facility that offers visitors an innovative, creative and quality demonstration of world-class scientific knowledge in the paleontological, archaeological and geological disciplines.
There is a mix of things to see, from real sized dinosaur models, exploring the history of and finds of local dinosaur fossils found plus a cinema to give interesting detail. Kgodumodumo means “Great Giant” in Sesotho, named after a legendary beast said to roam the mountains and which according to folklore, once ate a village. The local mythology is also explored at the centre.
The Clarens and Golden Gate areas have long been places of interesting finds showing that dinosaurs roamed the area. It was a logical place to build the Dinosaur centre. The building designed by Mashabane Rose Associates, was commissioned to blend into the surroundings of the beautiful and dramatic National Park. It won awards for the architects.
Background:
Early BaSotho communities discovered fossilised bones and footprints across the area, inspiring myths that still feature in traditional folklore.
In the late 1970s, renowned South African palaeontologist Professor James Kitching discovered seven fossilised dinosaur eggs exposed by road construction in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.
The eggs belonged to Massospondylus, a long-necked dinosaur that lived around 190 million years ago and many contained embryos. They also found footprints of hatchlings showing that young dinosaurs stayed in the nest long enough to double in size. These fossils are millions of years older than the more commonly known Jurassic dinosaurs… they date back to 190 million years ago.
At least 10 nests were uncovered and each contained up to 34 round eggs in tightly clustered clutches. Their distribution indicates that dinosaurs returned repeatedly to the same spot to lay their eggs. Their highly organised nature suggests the mothers may have arranged their eggs carefully after laying them.
Research, led by Dr Kimberley Chapelle and Professor Jonah Choiniere of the Evolutionary Studies Institute, Wits University, found that each embryo had two types of teeth preserved in its developing jaws. One set was made up of very simple triangular teeth that would have been resorbed or shed before hatching, just like geckos and crocodiles today. The second set was very similar to that of adults, and would be the one that the embryos hatch with.
The research showed that dinosaurs developed in the egg just like their modern-day reptilian relatives, whose embryonic developmental pattern hasn’t changed in 200 million years.
The professors described the centre as “more than just a tourist attraction.” “It is also a dedicated scientific and educational hub created to highlight South Africa’s own dinosaur legacy, often overshadowed by international narratives dominated by American discoveries.”
Explore further:
Join guide Gideon Groenewald, an accredited expert as both a qualified geologist and palaeontologist. He is not only the best person in the field to make this fascinating area come alive, but he is able to give you a chance to see up close, and even hold pieces from the vast collection which his own archaeological digs have unearthed. You will also be able to see real dinosaur footprints in situ. https://www.thesaunter.co.za/listing/clarens-dinosaurs/
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