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ree entry to several museums in Jakarta on Tuesday and Wednesday in commemoration of the city’s 491st anniversary saw crowds of visitors flock to the most famous museums despite the offer only being available on weekdays.

However, for the less famous museums, the offer of free entry did not translate to more visitors.

The 11 museums under the management of the city’s Tourism and Culture Agency, out of the 70 museums in the capital, offered free admission, including the Jakarta History Museum, the Wayang (shadow puppet) Museum and the Fine Arts and Ceramics Museum in Kota Tua, West Jakarta; the Maritime Museum in Penjaringan, North Jakarta; the Textile Museum, the Joang ’45 Museum, the M.H. Thamrin Museum, the Taman Prasasti Museum and the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta as well as Rumah Si Pitung in North Jakarta and Onrust Island Museum in Thousand Islands regency.

A visitor, Suzie Wehengkang, 51, said she was happy to find out that entrance to the Jakarta History Museum was free on Tuesday, as she was not aware of the offer.

“I’m just happy the tickets are free today,” she told The Jakarta Post.

“I like to learn about history, but history is not a favorite subject among children these days. So, I brought my daughter here to spark her interest to learn about history,” she said.

Suzie added that she was able to visit the museum on weekdays because her marketing job allowed her to set up her own working hours and days.

Ahmad Fathant, 34, an employee of a private company in Batam, Riau Islands, said he visited the museum during a family vacation for the long Idul Fitri holiday.

“I was also curious to see what Kota Tua looked like, so we came here,” he said, adding that it was his third time visiting the capital.

He said he expected to pay Rp 5,000 (35 US cents) for the ticket, but was surprised and happy to learn about the free admission.

On Tuesday, a total of 5,454 visitors visited the Jakarta History Museum, a figure comparable to the average numbers of visitors welcomed on weekends, according to Jakarta History Museum head of service Galih Hutama Putra.

“Normally, we welcome 1,000-3,000 visitors on weekdays and 4,000 to 6,000 on weekends,” Galih told the Post on Tuesday.

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an entrance fee of
Rp 5,000 for adults, Rp 3,000 for university students and Rp 2,000 for children and school students.

The offer of free admission at the MH Thamrin Museum in Senen, Central Jakarta, did not, however, result in an uptick in visitors. The museum welcomed a total of just four adults on Tuesday, according to Ayudita Fazrina, a tour guide at the museum.

“It’s just like any other day here at MH Thamrin Museum. Sometimes we receive very few visitors, or no visitors at all for an entire week,” Ayudita said.

“The museum is crowded only when there is a student tour,” she added.

She said visitors were often discouraged from visiting the museum because of its location, which is in the middle of residential and commercial areas on Jl. Kenari and quite far from major roads.

“We have promoted the museum through social media and made special offers [but to no avail],” she said. (ami)