Govt. Museum

The Government Museum of Chennai sees its origin in the year 1851 at College Road, Nungambakkam. Later, it was shifted to Egmore in 1854. The museum holds the prestige of being the second oldest museum of the country and also an admirable one in Southern Asia. The Government Museum also holds the prestige of being a Manuscript Conservation Centre (MCC) under the National Mission for Manuscripts, founded in 2003. The vast Museum ground has six buildings and 46 galleries, covering the tremendous area of land, which is about 16.25 acres. The museum primarily sees archaeological and numismatic collections, but also has a vast collection of Roman antiquities, outside of Europe. The museum holds the collectible as an old ad over 100 years. One can appreciate the collections of the museum including- artifacts, palm-leaf manuscripts and other objects which have been systematically categorized into geology, archaeology, zoology, anthropology, numismatics, botany, and sculpture. The prime galleries are- the Hindu Sculpture Gallery, Bronze Gallery, Amravathi Gallery, and the National Art Gallery. To keep the children occupied is the Children’s Museum, which has three main sub-divisions namely,  gallery, kids corner, and the transportation gallery. another inclusion of the museum that attracts everyone’s attention is the hugs Museum Theatre. The building sees the Italianate style of architecture. It was said to be constructed by the British in the late 19th century. The hall is artistically carved and decorated with floral and geometrical motifs. The huge hall of the Museum Theatre has 600 seats and a spacious stage constructed for the purpose of theatrical performances. Presently, it sees academic workshops, speeches, and seminars. Another yet important section of the museum, National Art Gallery, has in display the traditional paintings, Indian miniature artworks, paintings of Thanjavur and other antique and traditional paintings. While the Contemporary Art Gallery showcases the prehistoric British paintings as well as contemporary paintings. The best collections of the museum are- Amravati figures, Thanjavur armory, South Indian bronzes, copper plates, the inscriptions engraved on the stones, artifacts from the Megaliths of Adichanallur, the Dowleshwaram hoard of gold coins of Raja Raja I and Kulothunga I. These are still too less to tell. The inclusions of the gallery are surely going to make you go hypnotized in its charm.

Tickets:
Indians –
Adult Rs.15, ChildrenRs.10, Bonafide School Students Rs.5
Foreigners-
Adult Rs.250, ChildrenRs.125, Bonafide Students Rs.75
Photography-
Still Camera Rs.200, Video Camera Rs.500