The Meru National Museum is in a sorry state. A visit to the facility within Meru town reveals a nearly abandoned building housing a few live reptiles, several stuffed birds and mammals and a handful of poorly preserved historical artifacts.
On entering the building one is welcomed by a banner announcing the presence of a church. Indeed one of the rooms within the museum has been rented out to a church because it would otherwise be empty. Another room has been rented out to a private businessperson who has set up a restaurant. The remaining rooms are relatively empty save for the sparsely spaced displays of stuffed birds, three monkeys and a disproportionate giraffe. The dusty historical artifacts are kept in a poorly lit room adjacent to the main hall. 
Outside the building and into the museum compound there are 4 glass display units each housing a small serpent. There is a caged pond with one crocodile and a walled dugout where a single four-foot python is kept. There are several tortoises, rabbits and lizards which dwell with the python. The snake occasionally selects a rabbit for dinner. On the opposite side of the building, two lonely Columbus monkeys are caged separate from each other.
It would take you roughly 30 minutes to see everything in the museum even with a guide. Well, the guide is only available for "visitors" and a visitor is anyone who doesn't look Kenyan.
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The museum is relatively small and disappointingly under-stocked. But judging by its age, it has been preserved well. Perhaps it is time for a facelift.
