The National Museum in Bloemfontein dates back to the 1870s, when its collections and displays comprised mainly rarities from around the world. It was established on 20 July 1877 and opened to the public on 20 May 1878. The old Raadsaal building was made available by the then Free State Volksraad for hosting the Museum collections. A new museum building was completed in 1913 and the official opening took place in 1915. Since 1881 the museum has been subsidised mainly by government. Through donations, purchases and exchange agreements the Museum’s collections slowly got established and grew to a wide variety of natural and human science artefacts.