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s part of the celebration to mark Indonesia’s Independence Day, which fell on Aug. 17, all museums and cultural sites under the care of the Culture and Education Ministry are free for entry this month.

Several museums will use this opportunity to attract visitors from across the country. Some of these museums include the National Museum, the National Awakening Museum, and the Basoeki Abdullah Museum.

“We promote the free-entry month on our social media platforms to attract more visitors. Since there are also some foreign visitors, we can also promote Indonesia, our history and our culture,” said Safei, the head of partnerships at the National Museum.

“This is our opportunity to promote our museum. Right now, we provide a clean and modern museum with facilities like free Wi-Fi,” said Maeva Salma, the head of Basoeki Abdullah Museum.

One week after the introduction of the free-entry policy, most of the museums have recorded an increase in the number of visitors.

“We gained a lot of visitors after the introduction of the free-entry month, especially students. There are people who come to the museum four or five times a week,” said Maeva.

The National Awakening Museum, however, hasn’t seen an increased number of visitors. However, once visitors come, they keep coming in groups.

“Once they come, they usually come in groups. Yesterday, Jakarta’s State Assets and Auction Services (KPKNL Jakarta) brought 40 people here. We never run out of visitors,” said Sudjiman, the head of presentation and educational services at the National Awakening Museum.

Due to the increasing number of visitors, the museums have begun to improve safety and cleanliness.

“We also ensure that the cleanliness and safety of the museum is maintained. We have CCTVs and tour guides,” said Maeva.

“We usually have free dance exercises on the weekend and batik workshops every day. On the 27th, we’ll have a program called ‘Weekend at the Museum,’ where people can watch theater shows from Teater Koma and other theater exhibitions at the museum. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.,” said Safei.

“We have a program called ‘Supercamp’ on Aug. 27, a program where 250 high school students come here at 12 p.m. and stay until 7:30 a.m. the next day,” said Sudjiman.

On Aug. 16, the Basoeki Abdullah Museum also arranged a drawing competition for students in Greater Jakarta. The event attracted many students.

“We targeted for 100 students, but the number hit 110. We even had to close the registration early because there were still many students who wanted to participate,” said Maeva.

Most of the museums attracted more foreign visitors than Jakartans, said Maeva.

In fact, she said Jakartans don’t really appreciate their own museums. “A lot of people believe that a museum is for artifacts and the idea of a museum according to them is an old building filled with ancient stuff. I guess this is why people don’t really go to museums these days,” she said.

Sudjiman concurs with this view. “In our society, museums aren’t things that attract Jakartans, so the hype isn’t that high. Foreign visitors treat the museums more properly. Jakartans who come to the museums usually come only for their tasks or making a documentary. I guess it’s because we have to charge a fee for everyone who visits, except for students,” he said.

— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post