7 Must-See Museums in Bengaluru

HAL Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) Model at HAL Museum

Wikimedia Commons

Bengaluru does not disappoint museum hoppers. Here are five notable museums in Bengaluru. These fascinating museums are institutions dedicated study and exhibition of various objects of importance.

Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum

Located near Chinna Swamy Stadium in Kasturba Road, this outstanding museum is a constituent unit of the National Council of Science Museums, Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

The museum was established in 1962. It has a a built up area of around 4000 square meters. It has an excellent collection of artifacts cutting across science and technology developments over the last century.

The museum has seven permanent exhibition galleries:

1. Engine Hall
2. Fun Science
3. Electrotechnic
4. Space – Emerging Technology in the Service of Mankind
5. Biotechnological Revolution
6. BEL Hall of Electronics
7. Children Science

The museum is open between 10.00 am and 6.00 pm on all days except Ganesha Chathurthi and Deepavali. It is accessible by metro, BMTC bus, cab and auto rickshaw. I have visited this museum with my son many times. My son has benefited very much from these visits.

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Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum Ticket

General visitors	₹50
Organised school groups	₹25
Organised government/Municipal school groups	₹10

Government Museum, Bangalore

Established in 18 August 1865 by L B Bowring, the Chief Commissioner of Mysore State at that time. this museum is the second oldest museum in South India.

The museum building stands sturdy with its Corinthian columns, circular arches, sloping eaves, sloping parapet walls and portico. It mesmerizes the onlookers with its beauty. The imposing red façade of the building balanced with white patches of elements here and there is attractive.

Its exhibits include various archaeological and geological artifacts from different eras in history like those of the early Mohenjodaro, Vijyanagar and the Chandravalli period. Here you will see old jewellery, sculpture, coins, textiles, icons, vessels, paintings, pottery, inscriptions and more.

The museum has two exhibition floors, which are divided into 18 galleries. The galleries cover sections that span sculpture, natural history, geology, art, music and numismatics..

I saw Halmidi inscription, the earliest Kannada inscription (450 CE) ever found, for the first time in my life in this museum, which is located in Sampangi Rama Nagar.

You can reach the museum by cab, metro, BMTC bus or auto rickshaw. This historically and culturally significant museum is open between 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on all days except Mondays.

Source

Government Museum Bangalore Entry Fee

Adult	Child
₹10	₹5

HAL Aerospace Museum

This prestigious museum cum heritage center is in Marathahalli. It is India's first aerospace museum. Established in 2001, this museum captures the achievements and products of the pilots, designers and engineers.

The museum covers an area of around 4 acres. It preserves the heritage of the aviation industry. It has two halls. The first hall has the entire process of development and evolution of aeronautics, aviation and aerospace engineering, and everything related to it in detailed charts starting from the 1940s. It includes the museum's Wall of Fame where significant milestones of HAL in six decades and people involved are mentioned.

The second hall displays motorized cross section of models of aero engines, highlighting various functions of the engines. You can reach the museum by BMTC bus, cab or auto rickshaw.

HAL Aerospace Museum Timings

Opening	Closing
9.00 am	4.30 pm

NIMHANS Brain Museum

Located in Wilson Garden, this museum is only one of its kind in India. It was established in 2010. It is located in the ground floor of the Neurobiology Research Centre. It is the brain child of Professor S.K. Shankar, who was a teacher of Neuropathology.

A tour through this museum is as fascinating as it is chilling. When you step foot in this museum, you will have to admit, it feels like you have entered the sets of a rather graphic sci-fi film. School biology textbooks come alive here.

The museum is a large white room that is lined with shelves that display transparent cases with all kinds of brains in them. You will see more than 400 of them here.

You start off with animal kingdom, a small chicken brain is followed by brains of duck, mouse, rat and cow. You then move onto fetuses and trace the beginning of brain development in humans, including those that tragically fail to develop a brain at all – a condition known as anencephaly.

Then there are brains that have been affected by conditions like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Cerebral Palsy. There are brains of accident victims, many of whom could have easily been saved if only they had used a helmet or seat belt. There are specimens with neuroinfections caused by tapeworm eggs and amoeba.

This sprawling museum is solely dedicated to medical science. It is accessible by BMTC bus, cab or auto rickshaw.

Nimhans Brain Museum Visiting Hours

The museum is open between 10.00 am and 6.00 pm. It is closed on Sundays, second Saturdays and public holidays.

I want to raise curiosity about neurosciences.... As our collection of brain samples grew over the years we decided to make a brain museum to educate the public.

— Dr. Shankar, M.D (Pathology), Professor in NIMHANS

Kempegowda Museum

Kempegowda Museum is on the first floor of the famous Mayo Hall in Ashok Nagar. Established in the year 2011, this government museum is dedicated to Kempegowda, the founder of Bengaluru city.

This museum gives you an insight into the life and achievements of Kempegowda and his descendants. What I liked most in the museum is its glassed floor, which has a print of an 18th century map of the city running all through it. The museum is at the heart of the city. It is accessible by metro, BMTC bus, cab and auto rickshaw.

Kempegowda Museum Timings

Kempegowda Museum is open between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm. It is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat

Located in Kumara Krupa Road, this visual art complex has 18 galleries. It was established in the year 1960 by M Arya Murthy and founder Secretary late Prof M S Nanjunda Rao.

National Gallery of Modern Art

The National Gallery of Modern Art is located in Palace Road. It was open to public in 2009. It has a display space of more than 2,800 square meters. Sculptures, paintings and graphics prints are displayed here. There are paintings of Raja Ravi Verma, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, Rabindranath Tagore and many modern artists.

I think, it is the best NGMA in the country. Its warm inviting appeal, the kind of events which happen here, make it a beautiful place.

— S G Vasudev, senior artist