Entrance to Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre in FS free for all SAns until 30 Sept
The R120 million investment, funded by the European Union, is described as a milestone moment for the Department of Tourism, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, SANParks, and the Free State provincial government.
An artist’s reconstruction model of a ‘Massospondylus’, South Africa’s most famous dinosaur on display at the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre, located in SANParks’ Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the Free State, on 21 June 2025. Picture: Jacques Nelles/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - Deep in the Free State’s Golden Gate Highlands National Park, nestled between high mountains lies the state-of-the-art Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre.
The R120 million investment, funded by the European Union (EU), is described as a milestone moment for the Department of Tourism, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, SANParks, and the Free State provincial government.
The centre blends palaeontology, archaeology, geology, and cultural heritage, promising to awaken curiosity in every visitor.
His Majesty, Moremoholo Mopeli of the Bakoena Kingdom, alongside Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille, cut the ribbon to launch the new centre and had this to say: "It’s creating jobs for everybody. It’s imparting knowledge to the youth because the stories that our elders have been telling are stories that have never been recorded, and this is the first of its kind."
Patricia de Lille said: "South Africa is not only the cradle of humankind, we are also the cradle of human culture and no world history can be written without making reference to South Africa. The oldest fossil, I mean dinosaur embryo, was found here in South Africa over 220 million years ago."
To mark the opening of the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre, SANParks will be giving free entrance to all South African citizens from Monday until 30 September.