Delhi to have first children's museum soon: Ambika Soni

New Delhi, Aug 6 (UNI) Minister for Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni today said Delhi will soon have its first children's museum.

The museum will be developed on the theme of 'Story of Delhi' covering various layers of history and will focus on heritage as well as antiquities, she said, addressing a gathering after inaugurating two exhibitions at the Children's Museum building in the Siri Fort Complex here.

She said school children will be invited to give their suggestions about the things they would like to see in the museum.

She said objects and artefacts from the antiquities collection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as well as other governmental and non-governmental collections shall be displayed in the museum. Multimedia technologies will be used for developing a narrative of the 'Story of Delhi', she added.

She said invitations will be sent to different schools by the ASI to visit the exhibitions at the proposed museum site where she has inaugurated the exhibitions.

The minister said the building which will be utilised for the children's museum was taken over by the ASI from the DDA sometime back.

She said the two temporary exhibitions--'Astitva: a quest for identity' and 'Delhi: Past and Present'-- are being held at the building before the Children's Museum is set up.

''Astitva--a quest for identity'' is an exhibition to bring about awareness on heritage and has been put up by the Museology Department of the National Museum Institute.

The exhibition aims to sensitise visitors on issues relating to heritage preservation through public participation. Using various visual and audio-visual media, the exhibition portrays different kinds of damage done to the monuments by people through their acts of omission/commission and neglect.

It also dwells upon various threats faced by monuments, both natural and man made, and invites the visitors to start thinking differently, to act responsibly in the interest of heritage, and to share and participate in its glory. The exhibition aims to be educational and informative, while retaining the attribute of entertainment.

The other exhibition 'Delhi-- Past and Present' has been put-up by the Delhi Circle of the ASI. This photo-exhibition highlights the changes that have occurred in the vicinity of Delhi Monuments over the last few decades.

UNI MMG PD BD1910