Museums

Museums are buildings in which we see many things of artistic, cultural, historical, traditional and objects of scientific interest. It is a great source of knowledge. It not only gives us knowledge but also makes us familiar with our history, culture, civilization, religion, art, architecture of our country. In the museum, there are many things which are kept for the public.

Through all these things we can come to know how people of ancient times lived, what they used and what things they made. Therefore, Museums are also called storehouse of history.

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Types of Museums

Museums can be divided into following categories:

• Fine arts: They contain all types of paintings, drawings, sculpture, architecture etc.
• Historical Museums: These museums illustrate historical events or period, personalities etc. They have weapons, statues, artifacts made of stones and other material.
• Science and Technology: It contains all the things which are representative of the evolution of history, science, and technology such as fossils of dinosaurs.
• Museum-house: It is located in the birthplace of a famous person such as Sabarmati ashram, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s home, Tipu Sultan palace etc.
• Archaeological Museum: It contains all the objects related to history.
• General Museum: They contain more than one subject and therefore these museums are called multidisciplinary museums.

Museums of India

Most of the museums are specific and have items pertaining to a particular field or area such as Railway, statues, Airforce, doll etc.

1. National Museum

The national museum is the largest museum in India which is established in 1949 in Delhi. It contains a variety of articles from ancient to modern work of art. It has around 200,000 works of Indian and foreign art, covering over 5,000 years.

National Museum (Source: encrypted-tbn0.gstatic)

2. Doll’s Museum

International Dolls Museum is a large collection of dolls in Delhi. It was set up by K. Shankar Pillai, a political cartoonist. 6000 dolls from 85 countries like Japan, Africa, and different states of India such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal etc are on display at this museum.

Doll’s Museum (Source: i.ytimg)

3. The National Rail Museum

National rail museum is situated in Delhi and opened on the 1 February 1977. This museum focuses on the rail heritage of India and one of the most popular attractions for people of all age. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Delhi and describes the railway history of India.

National rail museum (Source: nrm.org)

4. Tipu Sultan’s Palace

This historical Museum is dedicated to Tipu Sultan the king of Mysore and his troop is located in Dari Daulat, Karnataka. The palace has various items which are associated with Tipu Sultan. There are several oil paintings, clothes, weapons, crown, utensils and pencil sketches of Tipu Sultan and his family.

Tipu Sultan Palace (Source: excitingindia)

5. Indian Museum

Indian Museum is the ninth oldest museum in the world and largest museum of India which is located in Kolkata. It is founded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1814 and has a rare collection of antiques, ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies and Mughal paintings.

Importance of museum

• Museums collect and preserve our objects and materials of religious, cultural and historical value.
• They are a good source of entertainment.
• These museums help to preserve and promote our cultural heritage.
• Museums are a storehouse of old artefacts, sculptures, objects, history etc.
• Museums help in research and study.
• They are the main attraction for tourist.
• They are a good source of knowledge.

Solved Example

Q1. The Government Museum of ____________ is often called the Egmore Museum due to its location in Egmore.

1. New Delhi
2. Kolkata
3. Mumbai
4. Chennai

Sol. The correct answer is the option ”d”. The Government Museum of Chennai is often called the Egmore Museum due to its location in Egmore.