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LiD
AUG/SEP
2017
8
S
ituated on the Timbavati Private Nature
Reserve, the Graeme Naylor Museum is
devoted entirely to the display of mammals,
reptiles and birds found on the reserve. Created to
enable visitors to see the fauna of the region up
close, the dedicated facility is also used to great
success as part of Timbavati’s outreach teaching
programme, and dozens of school children in the
vicinity are given the opportunity to learn about wild
life and conservation in the area.
The museum, which has been operational for
some time, was recently enlarged and upgraded
and Bergstrom Lighting along with Advanced
Lighting Systems, as part of their own outreach
programme, donated the lighting for the new facility.
Lindsay van den Berg of Bergstrom explains that
museums in general are becoming community-
oriented destinations. “Although the Graeme Naylor
Museum is relatively small, it is geared for visitors
to the reserve and plays an important role in the
community at large. My family has been coming
to Timbavati for years,” she says, “so, given the
nature of our business, it was a pleasure for us to
contribute in some way to the reserve”.
The museum consists of three sections: the
main room, which is also used for functions, and
two smaller adjacent rooms, one of which houses
the butterfly collection while the other is devoted
to the display of birds and eggs.
The preserved animals and birds (all of which died
of natural causes) are housed in units built into the
walls, or in free-standing wood and glass display
cabinets. A number of the animals are mounted
on the walls too. Says Van den Berg, “We used
LEDs throughout the installation in order to reduce
maintenance and operational costs, provide maxi-
mum flexibility, preserve the displays and keep the
colour true”.
Lighting a museum
in the Timbavati