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Photos: Revamped galleries and new exhibits at Kolkata’s Indian Museum
After 2 years of extensive renovations, four galleries at the Indian Musuem in Kolkata, housing over 16,000 artifacts and 300 skeletal exhibits, are geared to welcome visitors from Wednesday onwards. Museum officials hope the extensive additions to existing galleries, completely new specimens and sections with claims to the largest and oldest from plant and animal life, revamped displays and LED lighting system are going to be big draws among visitors and researchers. The galleries will be inaugurated by Union minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan along with West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi.
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A huge coral reef collection and specimens of the largest mammals on land and sea are just a few of the attractions awaiting visitors as the Indian Museum in Kolkata throws open its doors on Wednesday with new and revamped galleries. Founded in 1814 at the home of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the Indian museum is the earliest and the largest multipurpose museum in the Asia-Pacific region. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)
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A view of the renovated mammals gallery at the Indian Museum in Kolkata. This section houses skeletons and taxidermy exhibits of apes, elephants and whales including many rare animals. A total of 314 exhibits covering 138 species are on display at the museum. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)
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A student decorates the invertebrate gallery as part of the museum’s renovation. Kailash Chandra, director of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was quoted by The Telegraph saying that the gallery on invertebrates, or animals without backbones, is totally new. Two others had to be revamped or renovated. The total cost of the project was around Rs 17 crore. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)
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A general view of the Botanical gallery, one of the four galleries housed under the museum which also opens to the public after 2 years of renovation work. This gallery now has around 16,000 artefacts displayed in upgraded showcases with a new LED lighting system in the displays as well as from the ceiling. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)
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The galleries are scheduled to be inaugurated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, union minister for science and technology, environment, forest, climate change and earth sciences, along with West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on May 09, 2018. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)
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A skeletal exhibit of a hippopotamus on display at the museum. As many as 60 species of mammals are from Africa and America, some specimens nearly 200 years old. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)
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Emphasis has been given for comfort level of visitors during summer through installation of a large number of exhaust fans. Contributions made post-independence by eminent botanist E.K. Janaki Amal have also been displayed in a section of their own. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)
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Besides, a new gallery has been set up on the fourth floor of the museum showcasing the different life forms of plants, heritage collections of textiles, natural dyes, and manuscripts of The Dictionary of Economic Products of India by George Watt. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)
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