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Young World
Peek into the past
RADHA H.S.
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Museums house treasures of the past in trust for future generations.
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Most people go to museums to “see” things which they might not otherwise see. An important activity of museums is to keep what it houses in trust for future generations.The idea of museums in the modern world is about 100 to 150 years old. It started off as a space for locating collections under one roof. They they became bigger with many types of specialised collections under one roof.
Museums can support very participatory experiences for people of all ages. But this requires a museum to see beyond being just a display space. Interactive programmes with schools can make the understanding of what is studied in school much more interesting by visits to museums.
A great draw
Interactive displays in museums are a great favourite. The Vishweshwariah Industrial and Technological Museum at Bangalore has a large number of visitors, every year. Children run around from one display to the next pressing buttons, pulling knobs, listering to sounds, staring up at strung up aircraft and even walk into displays so that friends can watch part of their body disappear.
Visitors to Mumbai’s Chhatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj museum can hire a piece of audio equipment for a reasonable price. This has a handset with a headphone set. All exhibits which have a recorded commentary display a headphone sign and a nmber.
The Louvre museum in Paris offers virtual tours on their website, which saves you from the crowds and leaves your money intact!
The Amba Vilas Palace in Mysore which was earlier the home of the Wodeyars is today a museum. Standing in the deocrated durbar hall it is easier to imagine a king’s durbar rather than just read about it.
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