With lot of historic association and Delhi being the captial of India it has a very rich cultural heritage which is very much evident by the number of monuments in the capital. The archeological department of India confirms that there are 1200 heritage buildings and 175 monuments as national heritage sites. This cultural heritage is reflected in the wide variety of fascinating museums in the city. Here are some of the Best Museums in Delhi.
National Museum, New Delhi
The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as the National Museum of India, is one of the largest museums in India. It holds a variety of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art. The Museum presently holds approximately 2,00,000 objects of a diverse nature, both Indian as well as foreign, and its holdings cover a time span of more than five thousand years of Indian cultural heritage.
National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy
The National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, popularly known as the National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy. It is one of the largest crafts museums in India, celebrates the rich, diverse, and practising craft traditions of India. At present, the Museum collection consists of over 33,000 specimens in various crafts, acquired over a period of 60 years collected from various states of India. The collection reflects the continuing traditions of handicrafts and handlooms.
National Rail Museum
Experience the rich Indian Railway’s historic heritage in the company of rare steam, diesel and electric locos, royal saloons and lots of artefacts. The Museum collection is the largest collection of Railway real life-size exhibits and other rail components in the country. The Museum houses locomotives and coaches from the princely states across the Indian Subcontinent. The Museum houses documents, maps, drawings, books and other documentation belonging to the more than 160 years of Indian Railway.
Sulabh International Museum Of Toilets
The Sulabh International Museum of Toilets in Delhi is run by the Sulabh International, dedicated to the global history of sanitation and toilets. The Museum has a rare collection of facts, pictures and objects detailing the historic evolution of toilets from 2500 BC to date. The museum’s exhibits bring out the development of toilet-related technology of the entire gamut of human history.
Air Force Museum
The Museum entrance features an indoor display gallery that contains historic photographs, memorabilia, uniforms and personal weapons of the Indian Air Force. Air Force Museum, houses a rich collection of memorabilia of Indian Military Aviation and displays the history of Indian Air Force. The gallery leads to a hangar exhibiting small aircraft and Air Force inventory including anti-aircraft guns, vehicles and ordnance. Larger aircraft are exhibited outside the hangar. This outdoor gallery contains aircraft that also displays several war trophies, radar equipment and captured enemy vehicles. The hanger houses 15 different types of military aircraft that have formed the backbone of the Air Force since its inception.
National Science Centre, Delhi
The entry plaza to the Centre welcomes its visitors with a huge exhibit spanning four floors, one of the largest exhibits in the world, “The Energy balls”. The Museum features gallery like The Elixir of Life Gallery, Science & Technology Heritage Gallery, Human Biology Gallery, Pre-Historic Life Gallery, Fun Science Gallery, Information Revolution Gallery, Emerging Technologies Gallery. The primary objective of the Centre is to engage, educate and entertain the visitors through thematic exhibitions, interactive educational activities and outreach programmes.
Shankar’s International Dolls Museum
Dolls Museum is one of the most renowned museums in New Delhi which has a huge collection of dolls from across the globe. The collections of dolls are classified into two parts. One part consists of the dolls collected from European countries such as UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Commonwealth of Independent States and the other section consists of dolls collected from other Asian countries, Middle East, Africa and India. The India exhibit section comprises about 500 dolls dressed in costumes worn from all over the country.
National Philatelic Museum
The Museum has displayed number of frames in which exhibits of Post Independence era stamps. The collection of stamps includes the first postage stamp that was used in the year 1854. The Museum also has a Souvenir Shop which offers variety of Philatelic products like Stamps, Year Packs, Stamp Albums,Picture postcards, Pictorial cancellation of National Philatelic Museum, and Gift items.
National Police Museum
The National Police Memorial Museum is the first of its kind in India. The museum consists of five galleries over 1600 square meters. There are sections dedicated to various central and state police forces in India. The museum depicting the history, artefacts, uniforms and gear of central and state police forces. The martyrdom and stories section includes Operation Vajra Shakti (2002), Operation Puttur (2013), the killing of Veerappan (2004), and the death of Vandana Malik (1989) – the first female Indian Police Service officer killed in the line of duty and various other stories.
National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi
The comprehensive collection of National Gallery of Modern Art and its regional centres comprise around 17,000 art objects – paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints, photographs, and installations, essentially by Indian artists, built over the years through gifts, purchases, and permanent loans, it currently represents the works of about 2000 artists from India and abroad, and as in all dynamic institutions, the collection would continue to grow meaningfully.
Other known museums in Delhi are Ghalib Museum, Nehru Memorial Museum, Gandhi Smriti, Metro Museum, National Gandhi Museum, Indian War Memorial Museum, Red Fort Archaeological Museum and many more.
