Bihar Museum is a museum located in Patna. It was partially opened in August 2015. 'The children's museum', the main entrance area, and an orientation theatre were the only parts opened to the public in August 2015. Later, in October 2017 remaining galleries were also opened. More than 100 artefacts were transferred here from Patna Museum. It was planned as a history museum for the state of Bihar, and began construction in Bailey Road, Patna in October 2013 with an estimated budget of.
Overview
A 25,000 square meters museum and marketplace concept was to be developed, with "G+1" structure and with a very small portion being "G+4". It is six-storey building spread over 5.6 hectares, having 24,000 square meters of built area. Japan's Maki & Associates along with Mumbai's Opolis Architects was to develop the architectural design of the Bihar Museum. The proposal included four core exhibition galleries, educational, lobby, administrative and permanent gallery The government had signed a Memorandum of understanding with Canada-based consultancy firm Lord Cultural Resources in July 2011 to appoint them consultant for the project. In January 2012, the state cabinet approved the selection of Japan-based Maki & Associates and its Indian partner OPOLIS, Mumbai as the primary consultant architect for the project. In October 2017, Prime Minister of IndiaNarendra Modi visited Bihar Museum with Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar. 2300 year old Didarganj Yakshi is also in Bihar Museum. The artefacts from ancient India to 1764 are kept in Bihar Museum and those of the post-1764 period are kept at Patna Museum.
Location
It is located in Patna, the capital city of the East Indian state of Bihar. Its exact location is on the southern flank of Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Bailey Road, in Patna. It is spread over an area of 13.9 acres. The site of the proposed museum was earlier occupied by seven old bungalows between LN Mishra Institute and Hartali Mor in Bailey Road. Later in March 2013, the building construction department demolished all the bungalows.
Exhibits
The Bihar Museum has several galleries. These include the Orientation gallery, the children gallery, the regional gallery, the contemporary gallery, the historical art galleries, the Bihari Diaspora gallery and the visible storage gallery. The exhibits on different subjects are displayed in separate galleries. Each gallery is huge and has many artifacts on display including ones dating back to the 4th century.
Orientation gallery
The gallery gives an overview of the Museum and a theatre is located at the end of the gallery. A brief film introducing the museum and its collections is screened in the auditorium regularly. Film shows on Bihar's timeline and Bihar's history are also shown.
Children's gallery
Its collection of artefacts and exhibit items is divided into six domains: the Orientation Room, the Wildlife Sanctuary, the history sections on Chandragupta Maurya and Sher Shah Suri, the Arts and Culture section and the Discovery Room. Among the exhibits are a simulated the Asian paradise flycatcher, the Indian giant flying squirrel, animals, birds, trees and plants native to the state of Bihar. The gallery's focus is family learning; most exhibits are designed to be interactive, allowing children and families to actively participate.
History galleries
History Gallery A
The gallery has various artefacts from the Harappan Civilization also known as Indus Valley Civilization, the second urbanization and Haryanka. The whole collection of this gallery represents the advanced technology and sophisticated lifestyle of the Harappan people. The gallery has objects from the 4th century BCE to the 1st century BCE. It has objects spanning three major dynasties of India; the Mauryas, the Nandas and the Shishunagas. The gallery also houses fragments of railings from various ancient Stupas that are carved on with episodes from Buddha's and Mahavira’s life.
History Gallery B
This gallery exhibits artefacts from the Gupta Dynasty.
History Gallery C
Regional gallery
The gallery has curated exhibitions of Crafts, folk culture and traditions of Bihar.
Historical Art
The gallery’s main attraction is the Didarganj Yakshi.
Bihari Diaspora gallery
The Bihari Diaspora Gallery explores the contribution of Bihari people in making indelible imprints in the history and culture of other lands where they settled. The gallery provides the historic context of how Biharis were relocated to countries like Mauritius, Bangladesh and beyond. Some were recruited as labourers in the early days of the East India Company and others explored foreign lands on their own initiative. Activate an interactive map to learn about the origins of Bihari culture, trade routes and how the population has relocated in foreign lands. Aside of the past movements, also discover recent stories of the people of Bihar, their accomplishments and their involvements, to understand the influence Bihar has had around the world. Battling extremely adverse conditions, many common Biharis along with Bihari greats have impacted the destiny of history, culture and society of India.
Visible storage gallery
Apart from the galleries, there is publication and education section, sales counter, cafeteria etc. There is a restaurant for authentic Bihari cuisine, named as The Potbelly inside Bihar Museum.
Accolades
The Bihar Museum had received the Kyoorius Inbook Award 2016 in the Writing for Design category for its booklet I am Bihar Museum. The same has been selected for the iF Design Award in international branding and corporate communications categories in February 2018. In December 2019, the museum received the GRIHA Award along with a five-star rating. GRIHA stands for Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment.
