INSPIRE: Children can play in Joburg’s infamous jail

Reported by Daily Maverick · 8 August 2026

A once-brutal 19th-century jail in Johannesburg has been transformed into a vibrant children’s museum. Play Africa invites young visitors to explore and dream, turning a heavy historical site into a space for playful learning. The initiative offers a fresh, hopeful chapter for the Old Fort and the community.

“I was always a curious child with a fierce interest in the world,” says Futhi Mbongwe, director of Play Africa, “and that’s helped me to create a space where kids can play and dream.”Play Africa is a children’s interactive museum inside the Old Fort at Constitution Hill in Jozi’s Braa…

Daily Maverick

children's education, museums, history, South Africa, Futhi Mbongwe

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