Preserving history, heritage Museums in Bangladesh With its long and often tumultuous history, it is no surprise that many of the museums in Bangladesh highlight major events and conflicts that have shaped the country over the years. Archeological discoveries are also plentiful and offer insight into the history, and even prehistory, of the country. Museums are a great way to gain insight into various aspects of the city or town you are visiting, and Bangladesh has a wealth of fascinating museums that visitors are sure to enjoy exploring. National MuseumEstablished as Dhaka Museum in 1913, it has been renamed as the National Museum and was shifted to its new building at Shahbag in 1983. It is a four storied building and has forty galleries under four departments, namely, Natural History, History and Classical Art, Ethnography and Decorative Art and Contemporary Art and World civilization. The museum contains a unique interesting collection including sculptures and paintings of the Muslim periods. It also has a rich collection of gold coins, metal images, books on art, ivory and silver filigree works, textiles including the world famous muslin fabric, embroidered quilt (Nakshi Kantha), arms and ammunitions of the bygone warriors, varieties of fine handicrafts and models of the village and town life, contemporary paintings and sculptures. The valuable articles of the heroic liberation war of Bangladesh are also there. Folk Art Museum The Folk Art Museum was established in 1975 to fulfill the dream of the celebrated painter Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin. The museum has a very rich collection of folk objects of different materials and forms of aesthetic and utilitarian values. These undoubtedly reflect the sentiments, impulse, temperament, moods, idiosyncrasy, skill and expertise of the artists and artisans. It is a national institution, which represents traditional art heritage of Bangladesh, exhibiting objects of exceptional design and skill. Ethnological Museum The Ethnological Museum at Chittagong stands as a milestone in Bangladesh's national progress. It is a place where ample facilities have been provided to carry out ethnological research. This museum is recognized as one of the best-specialized museums in Southeast Asia. It houses objects of 12 different tribes of Bangladesh and also of many tribes of Australia, India and Pakistan. Archeological Museums Every place of archaeological importance houses a small archeological museum i.e. at Lalbagh Fort, Mahasthangarh, Paharpur and Mainamati. Varendra Museum Situated at Rajshahi, this museum has a rich collection of objects of Mohenjodaro and also from the 16th to l9th century AD. This is devoted to the study of ancient history and culture. The collections here contain interesting objects of the Muslim heritage. It is located at the heart of Rajshahi town and maintained by Rajshahi University authority. The year of its formal establishment is 1910. Tribal Museum The only Tribal Cultural Museum in the Hill Tracts region was established at Rangamati town in 1978 and run by the Tribal Cultural Institute. It preserves valuable objects and articles of different tribes depicting their socio-economic, cultural and historical tradition. These include typical tribal dresses, ornaments, arms and ammunitions, coins made of wood, bronze and other metals, musical instruments, ivory products, handicrafts, paintings on tribal life, etc. __
