FRIENDS OF IZIKO SOUTH AFRICAN
MUSEUM Non-Profit Organisation 052-511-NPO Postal address: P O Box 61 Cape Town 8000 South Africa Physical address: 25 Queen Victoria Street Cape Town South Africa Phone: 021 481 3913 Fax: 021 481 3993 Cell: 072 225 6893 E-mail: samfriends@iziko.org.za Website http://www.iziko.org.za/; http://www.iziko.org.za/ static/page/friends-of-the-south-african-museum
NEWSLETTER – JULY 2013
The shortest day of the year has come and gone, the Obamas have come and gone and we will soon be looking forward to spring. Friends can look ahead to a great line-up of lectures as well as more interesting activities as the year unfolds.
LECTURE PROGRAMME The lecture programme continues on the last Tuesday of each month. All lectures will be in the TH Barry Lecture Theatre at Iziko South African Museum, as always at 19:00, unless otherwise advertised. Entrance is free to members on presentation of a valid 2013 membership card. Visitors are asked for a donation of R30. Tuesday 30 July Speaker: Associate Professor Mike Picker, Department of Biological Studies, University of Cape Town Topic: Namibian fairy circles, Cape heuweltjies and social insects Polka-dotted landscapes are commonly seen from Google Earth (e.g. -30.906398, 18.213302) when flying above the dry parts of Africa. Closer inspection of these very large (up to 20m diameter) and evenly spaced circles and patches shows that they are free of vegetation. In spite of their large size and ability to change the appearance of landscapes, debate around their origin continues to rage. This talk evaluates the various hypotheses for their origin, and focuses on recent support for the involvement of social insect engineers.
Tuesday 27 August Speaker: Dr Helen Robinson Topic: The villages of the Liesbeek Years of research and personally exploring the area surrounding the Liesbeeck River has revealed interesting stories and characters which emphasise the role the river has played in the formation of the Southern Suburbs, as we know them today. Dr Robinson has written a book of the same name with numerous illustrations, some of which she will use in this lecture. NB: THE SEPTEMBER LECTURE COINCIDES WITH A PUBLIC HOLIDAY AND WILL THEREFORE MOVE TO TUESDSAY 1 OCTOBER Tuesday 1 October Speaker: Dr Wayne K Florence, Curator of Marine Biology at Iziko Topic: African ‘Bryodiversity’: a contribution to the works on the neglected marine invertebrate fauna of southern Africa. Our knowledge of the southern African marine fauna is outdated and fragmented, with previous work focussed on commercial species of crustaceans, molluscs and fishes. In this talk Dr Florence will introduce the Bryozoa; a neglected, but increasingly important group of, lesser known, colonial animals. He will explore their fascinating biology, usefulness and diversity, while making reference to the potential applications of Iziko’s current research on these beasts. Tuesday 27 November Speaker: Patricia Glyn – well-known eco adventurer, radio and television personality and author Topic: Dawid’s return In 2011 Patricia Glyn set off for the Kalahari to find traces of a long-dead Bushman by the name of Makai Kruiper – a legendary mystic, hunter and healer who roamed ‘The Thirst Land’ a century ago. At her side was Makai’s grandson, Dawid, a man as legendary as his forebear. Dawid was 76 years old and easily the most famous Bushman in South Africa, having featured in numerous films, documentaries, books and academic studies.