Tour Information for School Tours

Heart of Cape Town celebrates the triumph of the first heart transplant, which took place at the Groote Schuure Hospital. The museum is situated inside the hospital, and you will be able to see the exact operating theatres where Chris Barnard performed the first ever succesful herat transplant.

All school group bookings must be made well in advance via email. Once a return confirmation email has been sent, then your booking is secured.  

Dates/ Times

  • We are open 5 days a week – Monday to Friday
  • We run 4 guided tours per day at 09h00, 11h00, and 13h00. The last tour is at 15h00, and is available by prior booking only.
  • The duration of each tour is 1.5/2 hours and includes a 26 minute movie
  • You must arrive at least 10 – 15 minutes before the tour starts

Entrance Fees:

  • The entrance fee for learners is R50 per learner.
  • Up to 4 teachers accompanying the learners may enter the museum for free
  • Home school groups/schools:  A minimum of 1 teacher per 10 learners 
  • Any additional teachers/adults/parents – will be charged R50 per person. 
  • We only recommend learners 10 years or older visit the museum as the museum is not suitable for younger learners- from Grade 6 upwards.

Payment:

  • On confirmation of the tour time/date and final number of learners, an invoice will be issued. 
  • This can be paid in advance via EFT or on the day using cash/card. 

General Information:

  • If any special requirements are needed, please feel free to discuss them with us.  
  • No back-packs or school bags are allowed in the museum. Please ask the learners to leave their bags at school or on the bus.
  • No chewing gum or food is allowed inside the museum.
  • There is a wheelchair available if needed.

High School Groups:

  • Siblings under the age of 10 years old may not accompany the school group.
  • If Home School groups wish to bring younger siblings onto the tour, they can request a private tour but there is an additional charge of R400 and an extra tour guide will be brought in for this tour.

Standard Tour Group Sizes:

  • We can comfortably accommodate up to 40 Learners per tour, with a maximum cut off of 50 including teachers and parents.
  • If groups exceed 50 we recommend that 2 consecutive tours are booked – for example both the 09h00 and 11h00 tours.

Large Groups:

  • If it is only possible for the learners to do one tour (i.e. they can only come at a one specific time) and it is a very big group, we can accommodate the learners on one tour but please note that the tour will be split and done in 2 separate, smaller groups.
  • However, if the total number of learners and adults exceeds 70, then 2 tours must be booked.

Parking and Directions

  • There is visitor parking available directly outside our museum (Entrance 3, Old Main Building, Groote Schuur Hospital).
  • Our GPS co-ordinates are: GPS: 33 56’28.24“S  – 18 27’41.75 “E
  • If parents are bringing the learners to museum, the school must let us know, in advance, how many cars will be transporting learners so that we can ensure there is enough available parking. We suggest they share lifts.
  • If you arrive in a very large touring bus you will need to park outside the security booms and take a short walk up to us. Please do not wait in the bus – no one will fetch you.