Calcutta Museum was established on February 2, 1814 at the Asiatic Society. Dr. Nathaniel Wallich, a renowned botanist is the founder member of this museum. Initially, the museum was at 1, Park Street, however, in 1878 the museum was shifted to its present building. At that time, the Indian Museum of Calcutta had only 2 galleries, however, presently, it comprises more than 60 galleries of Archaeology, Art, Geology, Anthropology, Botany and Zoology divisions.
Those galleries are occupying more than 10,000 square feet area. Mainly in those sections objects related to Natural Science and Humanities are exhibited. This museum is presently located at 27 Jawaharlal Neheru Road, Kolkata-16 (near Maidan). From March to November, the museum remains open from 10.00 A.M to 5.00 P.M, whereas, from December to February people can visit the museum from 10.00 A.M to 4.30 P.M.
Here the visitors can come across a number of rare specimens. These samples belong to Indian as well as Trans - Indian origin. The Board of Trustees looks after the cultural divisions (Anthropology, Art and Archeology) of the museum, whereas, Zoological Survey of India, Geological Survey of India and Botanical Survey of India take care of the scientific sections of Calcutta Museum.
The Directorate of Calcutta Museum has 7 service
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units including Photography, Presentation, Preservation, Modeling, Education, Publication and Library. Indian Museum enjoys complete freedom in its administrative activities. The Cultural Department of Indian Government gives it financial support.
In Indian Museum, the visitors can watch marvelous paintings of Abanindra Nath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy and many others world-known painters.
Calcutta Museum also published several books. Some of them are Indian Museum Bulletin, Tibetan Thankas in the Indian Museum, The way of the Buddha and so on. Added to this, it also publishes a number of folders packed with wonderful paintings.
The Museum of Calcutta also has a wide collection of journals and books on Archaeology, Art, Museology and Anthropology. The school and college students can become members of this library, however, certain procedures have to be followed for getting the membership. The library remains open from 10.30am. to 4.30pm.(Monday-Friday). Throughout the year this museum also organizes plenty of seminars.
Some of the remarkable facilities offered by the Indian Museum are Bookshop, Video corner, Mobile Museum, Sketching permission, Mobile conservation laboratory, Training programs, Educational film shows, Photography, Temporary exhibitions, International exhibition.
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