Museums in Maharashtra

The State Maharashtra has as many as around 13 famous Museums, which preserve different types of antique items and works of art. Having a look at the Tribal Museum in Pune would enable the visitors why the tribal life is unique and colourful. A visit at the Coin Museum in Nashik offers a vast idea of Indian coinage from the earliest period to the modern times with the help of coins, moulds, dyes, replicas, photographs, and brief write-ups.

Prince of Wales Museum in Mumabi offers items of natural history, Indian miniature painting, decorative art and Tibetan and Nepali art, European painting, armoury and textile galleries. It is like experiencing a bunch of 5,000 years of Indian art. The Jehangir Art Gallery, Mani Bhavan Mahatma Gandhi Museum, National Maritime Museum, Taraporewala Aquarium and the Veermata Jeejamata Museum are all located in Mumbai.

Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Tribal Museum and Museum of Arthropoda in Pune and Shahaji Chhatrapati Museum in Kolhapur are the other famous museums of Maharashtra.

Bombay Natural History Society
This private institution was established in 1883, A unique centre, its activities are manifold and involve publications like the Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, regular newsletters and books on Indian animals, birds and nature. The exhibits include replicas and specimens of vertebrates and insects, mammals, birds, reptiles amphibians and fishes, all from the Indian subcontinent. However, the BNHS is not open to public and interested visitors should seek prior permission for admission.

Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture
Displayed at the Heras Institute arc collections of Mesopotamian antiquities like cylindrical seals and terracotta objects. The Indian antiquities include prehisto’ric pottery, sculpture from Gandhara, Mathura and the Gupta schools. There are Hindu, Jain and Buddhist icons. However the most interesting section is on Christian ivories from Gba. On view are images of saints, the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ.

Prince of Wales Museum of Western India
Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Bombay The Prince of Wales Museum was established to commemorate the Crown Prince’s visit to Bombay in 1905. The future George V laid the foundation stone and work began on the building which was designed and built to represent the ancient and medieval architectural styles of western India. The basalt stone structure with its large central dome inspired by the Bijapur domes and beautiful gardens are set in a crescent shaped piece of land.

Nehru Science Center
Nehru Science Centre exhibits actively involve the visitor in discovering information through participation in the demonstration process. A huge sprawling four storeyed building houses the nine galleries.

The hexagonal gallery, Science for Children, has an assortment of exhibits where children play with soap bubbles, primary colours, geometrical shapes and forms, tricky, puzzles, all of which make science learning a tun thing. Sound and Hearing and Light and Sight are specialised galleries and explain how sound is produced and heard, what resonance is, interference, echo, musical notes, the properties of Ught and colour, use of lenses, complexity of the human eye.

Jehangir Nicholson Museum of Modern Art
This private museum, established in 1976, displays a superb collection of contemporary Indian art. Almost all the well known artists have their works exhibited. Also on view is a collection of photographs.