Visvesvaraya museum witnesses record footfall on a ‘no entry fee’ day

Bengaluru: The Visveswaraya Technological Museum (VTM) on Saturday witnessed a record 7,257 visitors as science enthusiasts made the most of the exemption on entry fee, thanks to the International Museum Day celebrations.

The day saw the highest number of visitors on a given day at the museum this year, shattering the previous record of around 6,000. The theme of this year’s celebrations was ‘Museums for Education and Research.’ 

Science enthusiasts from all walks of life immersed themselves in the museum, engaging in intense discussions and eager questions and quenching their thirst for knowledge by exploring the instructive space.

Manu, a native of Kerala who has been residing in Karnataka for 17 years, visited the museum with his young son. “It is a good initiative to provide free entry but it should have been publicised earlier to reach more people,” he said.

Crispin, a British citizen who is in Bengaluru on a business trip, praised the museum for the initiative and termed his experience at the museum “enjoyable.”

The day’s proceedings also saw a ‘Demo Contest for Public on Artefacts.’ The session intended to create awareness about obsolete instruments that were once crucial to scientific progress.

Four children from Mitra Academy demonstrated an old telephone, gramophone, video cassette recorder (VCR) and an old radio. The day’s other event was flash mob -- a science show on ‘Science is Fun.’

A senior official at the museum said the initiative to allow free visits to the museum was first undertaken in 2022. “That year, we had weeklong International Museum Day celebrations. In 2023, there were exemptions for three days but this time it is only for one day,” he said.

Job opportunities

The Visveswaraya Science Museum (VTM) will conduct a written test for the post of Education Trainees on Tuesday. All science graduates and final semester BSc students are eligible to apply. They should carry relevant documents and be at the VTM by 9.30 am. For further queries, visit www.vismuseum.gov.in.