The National Museum of Ghana, located in a house on Barnes Road in the centre of Accra, was opened on 5 March 1957. The complex consists of three thematic galleries: 'Ghana's Past'; 'Traditions'; and 'The Artistic Culture of the Country'. The galleries respectively feature exhibits of Africa from the ancient period; sculptures and canvases by renowned masters of the past and the present; examples of traditional dress, local musical instruments, and sacred tribal artefacts such as Ashanti ancestral chairs.
Also on display are chiefs' regalia; Ghanaian national musical instruments; gold scales; beads; traditional textiles, stools and pottery crafts; paraphernalia for ritual dances, farming tools and iron making implements. Sad evidence and objects accompanying the slave trade; senfu masks. The exhibition of wooden Zulu figurines from South Africa is very diverse; there are ancient bronze heads from Nigeria and Bushongo; and carved figures from the Congo.
The museum also has a Sculpture Garden, including life-size statues of historical figures such as Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana.
The museum offers visitors the opportunity to explore the exhibition on their own or book a guided tour. A gift shop located here offers a wide range of traditional Ghanaian handicrafts.
