Lucy and Selam return to Ethiopia – Record visit at the National Museum in Prague

After 60 days, Lucy and Selam, two of the oldest known human ancestors, returned to Ethiopia. The exhibition at the National Museum in Prague attracted over 210,000 visitors from home and abroad.

After two month, during which visitors to the National Museum in Prague had the unique opportunity to see two of the oldest known human ancestors up close, Lucy and Selam returned to Addis Ababa. The exhibition of the original fossils – the 3.2-million-year-old Lucy and Selam, who is around 150,000 years older – was a highlight of the Humans and Their Ancestors exhibition in the Historical Building of the National Museum and drew 210,441 visitors from home and abroad in a short period of time.

Never before have the two world-famous fossils been seen together outside Ethiopia. Lucy had only previously been displayed outside Ethiopia during a six-year tour of the United States between 2007 and 2013. Selam, on the other hand, was first shown in 2006 when the find was presented at the National Museum of Ethiopia and is not permanently exhibited there either. Another loan abroad is not currently planned, making the Prague presentation a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Lucy and Selam were accompanied by their discoverers, Donald Johanson and Zeresenay Alemseged. Visitors had the rare chance to meet the researchers in person during a moderated discussion at the National Museum. The recording is available in English with Czech subtitles on YouTube: Debata s objeviteli Lucy a Selam v Národním Muzeu.

Due to the uniqueness and scientific value of the fossils, their transport and exhibition in Prague were accompanied by extensive security measures implemented in cooperation with the Czech police. The transport to Prague was carried out by a special flight with Ethiopian Airlines, and the return transport by the Czech Republic Air Force.


National Museum Prague (Národní muzeum)
Václavské nám. 68, 110 00 Nové Město
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