Museums in Western Region

The Western Region holds some of Ghana's most rewarding small museums, and each one tells a different story. At Beyin, Fort Apollonia stands right on the seafront and has housed the Museum of Nzema Culture and History since 2010, an eco-museum that presents Nzema culture and history alongside the Amansuri wetland environment. Further east, in Nkontompo at Sekondi-Takoradi, the Bisa Aberwa Museum is a not-for-profit Pan African museum holding over 2,000 exhibits on African and diaspora history, including roughly 2,200 artefacts, sculptures and photographs on African struggle history. Inland at Nkroful, the Nkrumah Museum marks the birthplace of Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, and keeps his original 1972 burial site and memorial.

What they share is a deep sense of place: forts, wetlands, birthplaces and collections built by people who wanted this history kept close to home. What differs is scale and mood. Fort Apollonia and the Nzema museum are one visit in a coastal setting; Bisa Aberwa is a large indoor collection in the city; Nkroful is a quiet memorial site. Together they make a thoughtful few days of travelling.