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National Museum marks 236th anniversary
On the move: Dancers from the PKM Wadah Jatibening Bekasi group perform the Bajidor Kahot dance as part of The Museum Week 2014 at Senayan City shopping mall in South Jakarta on Saturday
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On the move: Dancers from the PKM Wadah Jatibening Bekasi group perform the Bajidor Kahot dance as part of The Museum Week 2014 at Senayan City shopping mall in South Jakarta on Saturday. More than 10 museums from Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, are taking part in the event, which ends on Sunday. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira) (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)
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span class="inline inline-none">On the move: Dancers from the PKM Wadah Jatibening Bekasi group perform the Bajidor Kahot dance as part of The Museum Week 2014 at Senayan City shopping mall in South Jakarta on Saturday. More than 10 museums from Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, are taking part in the event, which ends on Sunday. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)
Hundreds of school students from across Jakarta flocked to the National Museum on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta as the museum kicked off a weeklong festival on Saturday to celebrate its 236th anniversary.
Various programs were held simultaneously on the opening day, most of which demanded visitor participation.
On the first floor of the museum's main building, for example, visitors could join various activities in the batik-making booth, wayang (traditional puppet) booth, ceramic-painting booth and the kids' corner.
Other programs being held during the festival include creative competitions, a photo exhibition, video mapping and a seminar on the Singhasari kingdom.
The interactive booths proved to be effective in attracting students from elementary to high school.
SMP 29 junior high school student Arfia Estiningtyas and her classmate Tiara Gita were among those busy covering batik motifs with wax at the batik-making booth.
'It looks easy but is actually complicated. I keep dripping the hot wax,' Arfia said.
While agreeing with her friend, Tiara hoped the museum would hold similar programs in the future.
'Museums become more attractive with this kind of activity,' she said.
Muhammad Hafiz, a student of SD Kenari elementary school, pointed out that even though he had participated in such activities at school, doing so at the museum had given him a new experience.
'It is more exciting here with a lot of other students from other schools,' he said.
Puppeteer Amat Kusaini said the creation of such programs was essential for museums to survive.
'I have developed a modern wayang for a year now and it is proven to be more attractive to children. I usually use the puppet to tell traditional tales. Within a minute, a crowd of children flocked to my booth. So, innovation is important to preserve culture,' he said.
Museum guide Muswan Daromi said the museum had seen a significant increase in visitors over the past few years.
'The National Museum sees hundreds to thousands of visitors daily, mostly students. It is partly thanks to the government policy obliging schools to take their students to museums,' he said.
National Museum director Intan Mardiana said the management had added more interactive and educative programs to lure visitors.
The museum is currently being revamped, with a third of the building under construction. The renovation is targeted to be completed in 2017.
The new museum will have a theater, laboratory, food store, café and souvenir shop.
The Education and Culture Ministry's culture director general, Kacung Marijan, assured the museum would keep up with digital technology development.
