The Nairobi National Museum, on Museum Hill just north of the city centre, is one of the finest natural history and cultural museums in sub-Saharan Africa. Its Hominid Hall is the centrepiece: a collection of skulls and bones discovered in Kenya by the Leakey family and others, documenting the human story from Homo habilis through to Homo sapiens in a sequence of cases that is simultaneously scientific and deeply affecting.
Beyond the fossils, the museum has strong collections in Kenyan natural history (birds, insects, marine life), geology, and cultural heritage from the country's 42 ethnic communities. The ethnographic displays are well-curated and informative. The adjacent Snake Park holds living reptiles — cobras, mambas, pythons, crocodiles — and is particularly popular with children.
Open daily 9:30am–5:30pm. The museum is about 2 km from the city centre, reachable by taxi or a short matatu ride. Allow two to three hours for a thorough visit.