TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
National Museum Embracing young people through communities
Gedung Gajah, the old building of National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta
Change Size
Gedung Gajah, the old building of National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta. CC/Gunawan Kartapranata
Celebrating its 237th anniversary, National Museum continues to evolve ' from providing visitors with interesting programs to erecting a new building ' to attract more young people.
'We're in constant motion to make the National Museum popular. Targeting children and young people to come visit is among our efforts,' National Museum director Intan Mardiana said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the National Museum's month-long festival.
With entrance tickets priced from Rp 2,000 to Rp 10,000, the museum welcomes upwards of 300,000 visitors a year. For 2017, the museum is aiming for 1 million visitors.
Intan said that most people who stopped by were schoolchildren or tourists.
The museum organized the festival in conjunction with International Museum Day, which falls on May 18, as a way to improve attendance.
The festival, which started on April 24, carries the theme 'Museum for a Sustainable Community: The National Museum and the Role of the Community' as its main theme.
The museum is working with the Indonesian Heritage Society in arranging various interesting programs for the event.
'We've prepared a number of fun programs with communities, like the Indonesian Heritage Society, which I believe would attract public's interest,' Intan said. 'We really hope the programs will draw more young people to visit the museum.'
The festival offers a series of celebrative activities such as the 'Pelangi Nusantara' opening ceremony on April 24; the 'Bahagia Berjalan Bersama Museum Nasional' (Fun Walk with National Museum) on May 17, the 'Warna-Warni Indonesia' kids fashion show on May 18, 20 and 22; the 'Jelajah Harmoni Khatulistiwa' choir festival for junior high school students on May 19, 21 and 23; the 'Perspektif' short-movie festival for high school students on May 23 and 24; the 'Mencipta, Tersenyum, Mainkan' workshop for traditional games on May 23 and 24; a 'Keindahan Indonesia' bazaar at the museum from May 17 to 25; and the 'Kita Untuk Museum' closing ceremony on May 25.
The museum hosted other various programs such as the 'Legenda Asmat' musical theatrical performance on April 26; 'Pekan Budaya Dayak' (Dayak Culture Week) from April 27 to 30; a workshop featuring traditional costumes to celebrate National Education Day on May 2; and a 'Parade Topi Hias' (Hat Parade) on May 3.
Getting people involved in the museum's activities to learn about Indonesian culture is the best way to attract youngsters to come to the museum, said Intan.
'Therefore, we collaborate with communities to make the work lighter. Those communities often organize interesting events at noon or evening times. They give a big help for us in introducing our collections,' she added.
Intan further said that the museum also has a kids' corner to give extra comfort to young visitors.
Besides cheering up the museum with celebrative programs, the National Museum also continues beautify its physical look by revitalizing its existing two buildings, A and B, and building a new 7-story building.
The museum also provides the area with a decent cafe for visitors to rest or meet while strolling around the museum.
Culture and Elementary and Secondary Ministry culture director-general Kacung Marijan said that he hoped the new look of the National Museum would ncrease the number of visitors.
'We're hoping the revitalization would push [visitor] numbers up to one million by 2017,' he said, adding that the museum's development needed the full support of people and the community.
The National Museum has about 140,000 objects with its collection divided into four categories: prehistoric, archaeological, ceramics and ethnographical.
The museum, which originally opened in 1868, is located on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta, near Merdeka Square.
For more information visit museumnasional.or.id.
