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Bandung's Geology Museum houses bones and more
Extensive collections of skeletons and bone fragments are well displayed at the Geology Museum in Bandung
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Extensive collections of skeletons and bone fragments are well displayed at the Geology Museum in Bandung. (JP/Simon Marcus Gower)
Wild, excited screams echo down the pristine hallways of the Geology Museum in Bandung. But these playful shouts are nothing disturbing; in fact they can be seen as proof of the joy and adventure that can come from learning.
Upon entering one particular display it becomes immediately obvious what the excitement is all about.
Several small children are hopping about below the looming figure of a tyrannosaurus rex. They growl and playfully claw at each other in imitation of the long extinct creature.
It is amazing, and consistent, the way in which little children have such a fascination for dinosaurs. It does not matter to these children that the large skeleton towering over them is just a replica; they simply love every minute of being near it.
Gradually though, their excited yelps subside and, as they do, these children begin to look at and observe the displays before them. This museum is far from the crusty and dusty old repositories that offer little in terms of presentation and real learning.
The Bandung Geology Museum was established in 1929, under Dutch leadership, and from the get go was intended to be a place of research and learning. This continues to be reflected as the displays and guiding notes that run throughout the museum are informative, well-prepared and captivatingly presented.
The museum's collection is quite extensive and includes numerous animal skeletons and bone fragments, although it can appear rather maze-like and is a little mesmerizing.
In the shadow of these often huge bones, small representations of the animals (fleshed out, as it were) help the visitor visualize what these incredible creatures would have looked like when they roamed the Earth. Extensive pictorial representations and maps also help in this regard.
In another section of the museum, quite detailed and large models have been created that effectively illustrate how the world formed and what led the continents to be in the familiar shapes that we see on globes and maps today.
The volatility of the Earth is also illustrated with models; in particular a range of mountains in East Java is modeled with accompanying screens showing footage of volcanoes. This brings the earth and its volatility a little closer to home.
What is particularly nice about this museum is the fact that care and attention have gone into the displays. From the quality of the printed words and illustrations, right through to the audio features, it is possible to learn a great deal.
Also, perhaps rather unusually for a museum, in one particular area, the visitor is encouraged to touch the exhibits.
Museums typically feature warnings and admonishments not to touch the exhibits, but in this particular area of this museum touching is positively encouraged. Displayed openly on a short and sturdy table is a large boulder-like meteorite which stands next to another meteorite contained in a glass box.
This glass box has holes in all four of its sides as well as its top, through which the visitor may reach in and feel the meteorite. The meteorite is smooth and cool to touch. The one contained in the glass box is jagged and thus somewhat protected by the boxing.
These two rocks that fell to earth engender interest too. Children happily and busily reach for them and there is a sense of wonder at how these hard, solid objects got here.
The adventure continues with the display of tools and equipment -- such as shovels, picks and hammers -- used in the field to explore and discover the museums treasures. Much of the museum's existence has obviously been dedicated to exploration and discovery.
The museum also features a library that contains, on broad and old bookshelves, hundreds and thousands of books.
But it is not a forgotten library, decaying and fading away. People explore its texts and thus the museum is alive in both its library and its display areas. The pristine marble hallways form a historical record of the world's geology, but it's history both respected and alive.
Leaving the museum the visitor can stop off at its souvenir shop and, in a sense, take a little piece of geology home. Semi-precious stones have been cut, polished and mounted for sale. Boxes of stones, minerals and ores can be bought which are informative and quite well produced.
The informative souvenirs include collection of small sample stones accompanied by explanations. They make a rather more meaningful and interesting souvenir than typical knick-knacks like stickers and key-chains.
The museum building itself can and should be appreciated too. It stands a mere stone's throw away from perhaps Bandung's best-known building, Gedung Sate. Like Gedung Sate, it is a fine example of the architecture of its time. Its clean and simple art-deco design and limited decoration complements rather than distracts from the exhibits and creates a very pleasant environment in which to view the displays.
It can, then, be said that learning is a pervasive factor throughout the museum. The yelping children that were playfully enjoying the exhibits did get warnings and admonishments to hush from the museum security staff but ultimately even they seemed to enjoy the fact that the children were having a good time at the museum.
