MUTARE – The Mutare Museum of Transport and Antiques is transforming the traditional Zimbabwean game of tsoro into a computer game.
National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) marketing officer Lloyd Makonya told the Daily News that his organisation had engaged Mutare Polytechnic to develop the tsoro computer game which will be part of a new interactive interface.
“We are developing tsoro as computer game for our visitors to enjoy as part of our interactive interface in the gallery. The project is part of the Beit Gallery renovations to be completed in the next three months. We want to utilise technology to make the gallery interactive, engaging and educative,” said Makonya.
He added that the Beit Gallery would take particular interest in cosmology, spirit world, witchcraft, traditional healing, life and death and the famous Manyika lighting creation and use as well as other critical elements under threat of extinction.
Early this year NMMZ eastern region director Paul Mupira revealed that the museum had secured £17 000 from London-based Beit Trust to make the museum more modern.
Mupira added that the museum “has been a frozen hub” after going for over 60 years without any change to any of its displays.
“Our displays are very old. We need to have more. Some exhibitions are more than 50 years old. We will certainly be giving new interpretations to our displays given the change of our socio-political environment. The current displays are colonial. A lot has changed since 1964,” Mupira said then.
Under the ongoing reorganisation, Beit Gallery will be made to refocus on Eastern Zimbabwe Shona culture.
“Some cultural practices are threatened by westernisation. Some of the cultural rites are almost dying so we are not only looking at presentation but their preservation,” said the NMMZ eastern region director.
Mupira revealed that the museum refocused its priorities in response to visitor surveys.
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