Within Unusual Ethiopia
Inside Addis Ababa's Palace and Taxidermy Collections
A former imperial palace and an old-school zoological museum reveal how Ethiopia's universities preserve royal life, cultural objects and animal bodies.
On this page
- The imperial palace turned ethnological museum
- Mounted wildlife and the national biodiversity record
- How academic collections differ from tourist museums
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Introduction
Addis Ababa University contains two of Ethiopia’s most distinctive collections, and together they offer an unusual way of understanding the country. One is the Ethnological Museum, housed inside the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie, where royal rooms, ceremonial objects and everyday cultural artefacts are displayed side by side. The other is the Zoological Natural History Museum, a quieter but equally remarkable institution that preserves hundreds of mounted animals and scientific specimens documenting Ethiopia’s wildlife. Rather than presenting curiosities for entertainment, these collections reveal how an academic institution has preserved both the cultural life of people and the biological life of the country, making them among Ethiopia’s most compelling “cabinets of culture and wildlife”.[Wikipedia]WikipediaEthnological Museum, Addis AbabaEthnological Museum, Addis Ababa
The imperial palace turned ethnological museum
The Ethnological Museum occupies the former Genete Leul Palace, once the residence of Emperor Haile Selassie before the building became the main campus of Addis Ababa University. The palace itself is part of the collection. Visitors move through imperial reception rooms, private apartments and ceremonial spaces while simultaneously exploring exhibitions about Ethiopia’s many cultures. This unusual combination means the building functions both as a historic royal residence and as an academic museum dedicated to anthropology.[Wikipedia]WikipediaEthnological Museum, Addis AbabaEthnological Museum, Addis Ababa
Unlike many ethnographic museums that arrange objects by region or ethnic group, the permanent exhibition is organised around the stages of human life. Displays explore birth, childhood, adulthood, marriage, work, belief and death through artefacts gathered from communities across Ethiopia. Household objects, clothing, agricultural tools, jewellery, musical instruments, religious items and ceremonial objects are presented as parts of lived experience rather than isolated works of art. This structure encourages visitors to compare shared human experiences across Ethiopia’s many cultural traditions instead of treating each community as entirely separate.[Music In Africa]musicinafrica.netMusic In Africa Ethnographic Museum (Addis Ababa University) | Music In AfricaMusic In AfricaEthnographic Museum (Addis Ababa University) | Music In AfricaSeptember 2, 2015…
The museum also preserves elements of imperial history that would otherwise have disappeared. Haile Selassie’s bedroom, personal furnishings, ceremonial robes and other royal possessions remain in place, allowing visitors to experience the palace as both a historic residence and a museum exhibit. Some traces of political upheaval have also been preserved, including damage associated with the failed 1960 coup attempt, giving the palace an atmosphere that combines royal memory with modern political history.[Lonely Planet]lonelyplanet.comLonely Planet Ethnological Museum | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AttractionsLonely PlanetEthnological Museum | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Attractions - Lonely Planet…
Beyond anthropology, the museum forms part of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and contains collections relating to traditional art, ethnomusicology, coins and postage stamps. Together these collections exceed 13,000 objects, making it one of Ethiopia’s most important university museums and one of the earliest museums established within an Ethiopian university.[Wikipedia]WikipediaEthnological Museum, Addis AbabaEthnological Museum, Addis Ababa
Mounted wildlife and the national biodiversity record
Only a short distance away on another part of Addis Ababa University’s campus is the Zoological Natural History Museum, a collection that receives far fewer visitors but plays an equally important role in preserving Ethiopia’s heritage.
Established during the 1950s, the museum remains Ethiopia’s only dedicated natural history museum. Its origins partly lie in zoological collections assembled during the Italian occupation and later expanded by university staff, biology students and visiting researchers working throughout the country. As the university’s collections grew, the zoological specimens were separated from the ethnographic collections that eventually became today’s Ethnological Museum.[musicinafrica.net]musicinafrica.netMusic In Africa Ethnographic Museum (Addis Ababa University) | Music In AfricaMusic In AfricaEthnographic Museum (Addis Ababa University) | Music In AfricaSeptember 2, 2015…
The museum now houses specimens representing more than 1,100 animal species. These include mounted mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and other preserved specimens collected from Ethiopia’s diverse ecosystems, from highland plateaus to lowland savannahs. While the displays may appear old-fashioned compared with modern interactive natural history museums, their scientific value remains significant because they preserve physical records of species distribution, morphology and biodiversity collected over many decades.[bwppearladdis.com]bwppearladdis.comZoological Museum – Best Western Plus Pearl Addis HotelZoological Museum – Best Western Plus Pearl Addis Hotel
For visitors interested in unusual collections, the appeal lies partly in the atmosphere. Rows of taxidermied animals and preserved specimens evoke the nineteenth- and twentieth-century tradition of natural history cabinets, where scientific research and public display overlapped. Rather than presenting dramatic special effects, the museum offers an authentic glimpse into how zoological collections were assembled for teaching and research before digital databases and wildlife photography became widespread.[bwppearladdis.com]bwppearladdis.comZoological Museum – Best Western Plus Pearl Addis HotelZoological Museum – Best Western Plus Pearl Addis Hotel
How academic collections differ from tourist museums
Both university museums differ noticeably from Ethiopia’s better-known tourist attractions because their primary purpose remains education and research rather than entertainment.
The Ethnological Museum interprets culture through scholarship. Objects are used to explain social life, religion, music, craftsmanship and historical change, while the palace setting illustrates how Ethiopia’s imperial past intersects with academic study. Visitors are encouraged to understand artefacts within wider cultural systems rather than treating them simply as exotic curiosities.[Music In Africa]musicinafrica.netMusic In Africa Ethnographic Museum (Addis Ababa University) | Music In AfricaMusic In AfricaEthnographic Museum (Addis Ababa University) | Music In AfricaSeptember 2, 2015…
The Zoological Natural History Museum serves a similar role for biology. Its specimens support teaching, taxonomy and biodiversity research, while simultaneously providing one of the country’s few public opportunities to encounter preserved examples of Ethiopia’s remarkable wildlife. The displays may lack the theatrical presentation found in larger international natural history museums, but they retain considerable scientific importance because they document species collected across different periods of Ethiopia’s environmental history.[bwppearladdis.com]bwppearladdis.comZoological Museum – Best Western Plus Pearl Addis HotelZoological Museum – Best Western Plus Pearl Addis Hotel
Together, these collections illustrate an older museum tradition in which universities acted as custodians of both cultural memory and scientific evidence. One preserves the material lives of Ethiopia’s people; the other preserves the physical record of its fauna. Seen together, they form an unusually complete cabinet of national identity, combining anthropology, royal history and natural history within a single academic institution.
Why these collections matter in Ethiopia’s curiosity landscape
Within Ethiopia’s broader landscape of unusual collections, Addis Ababa University’s museums stand apart because they preserve two very different forms of inheritance under one institutional roof. The Ethnological Museum demonstrates how objects associated with ordinary life, ritual and monarchy can coexist within a former imperial palace, while the Zoological Natural History Museum preserves animal bodies as scientific records rather than hunting trophies or decorative displays.
Neither museum trades on mystery or sensationalism. Their fascination comes instead from the survival of older museum practices: carefully assembled university collections, taxidermied wildlife, royal apartments left largely intact, and exhibitions that invite visitors to understand Ethiopia through both its people and its biodiversity. Together they remain among the country’s most distinctive academic collections and offer one of the clearest examples of how Ethiopia preserves curiosity through scholarship rather than spectacle.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaEthnological Museum, Addis AbabaEthnological Museum, Addis Ababa
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Endnotes
1.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Ethnological Museum, Addis Ababa
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnological_Museum%2C_Addis_Ababa
2.
Source: bwppearladdis.com
Title: Zoological Museum – Best Western Plus Pearl Addis Hotel
Link:https://bwppearladdis.com/discover-the-city/zoological-museum/
3.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Institute of Ethiopian Studies
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Ethiopian_Studies
4.
Source: musicinafrica.net
Title: Music In Africa Ethnographic Museum (Addis Ababa University) | Music In Africa
Link:https://www.musicinafrica.net/directory/ethnographic-museum-addis-ababa-university?language=en
Source snippet
Music In AfricaEthnographic Museum (Addis Ababa University) | Music In AfricaSeptember 2, 2015...
Published: September 2, 2015
5.
Source: lonelyplanet.com
Title: Lonely Planet Ethnological Museum | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Attractions
Link:https://www.lonelyplanet.com/points-of-interest/ethnological-museum/455951
Source snippet
Lonely PlanetEthnological Museum | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Attractions - Lonely Planet...
6.
Source: addisabeba.info
Title: ethnological museum
Link:https://addisabeba.info/en/ethnological-museum/
Source snippet
Addis Ababa: Cultural Heritage & Imperial History (2025 Visitor Guide)July 28, 2025 — ETHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM: ETHIOPIA'S CULTURAL TREASURE I...
Published: July 28, 2025
7.
Source: thingstodoinaddisababa.com
Title: Ethnological Museum
Link:https://thingstodoinaddisababa.com/landmark/ethnological-museum/
Additional References
8.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Link:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFacade_and_entrance_of_the_Ethnological_Museum%2C_Addis_Ababa_%2826430577063%29.jpg
Source snippet
wikimedia.orgFile:Facade and entrance of the Ethnological Museum, Addis Ababa (26430577063).jpg - Wikimedia CommonsApril 10, 2016 — FILE...
Published: April 10, 2016
9.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Students and foreigners tour the Natural History Museum of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuECuHPH9Vk
Source snippet
Addis Ababa University Ethnological Museum Inside Rastafari Haile Selassie's Palace at Addis Ababa University | Ethnological Museum Tour...
10.
Source: travel.com.et
Title: Ethnological Museum Addis Ababa | Travel Addis
Link:https://www.travel.com.et/ethnological-museum-addis-ababa/
Source snippet
June 24, 2026 — June 24, 2026 web-master ETHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM ADDIS ABABA The Ethnological Museum, located on the main Sidist Kilo campus...
Published: June 24, 2026
11.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Addis Ababa University, Natural History Museum Inauguration
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcigE5NBlWA
Source snippet
Students and foreigners tour the Natural History Museum of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia...
12.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Zoological Natural History Museum, Addis Ababa
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZevQsELWvc
Source snippet
Addis Ababa University, Natural History Museum Inauguration...
13.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhEppd13Amc
Source snippet
Ethnological Museum, Addis Ababa...
14.
Source: momaa.org
Link:https://momaa.org/directory/ethnological-museum-addis-ababa/
15.
Source: synotrip.com
Link:https://www.synotrip.com/muluken-girma/ethnological-museum-ethiopia
16.
Source: ultraeth.com
Link:https://ultraeth.com/trip/the-ethnographic-museum-addis-ababa/
17.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Ethnological Museum, Addis Ababa
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGHRhWwXkL4
Source snippet
Zoological Natural History Museum, Addis Ababa...