The museums of Karnataka state is like a picturesque book, in which all the ancient images of Karnataka state have been stored. Within the museums, you get to see the younger picture of Karnataka with graceful and an elegant look. All the antiques have been stored carefully within the museums. Apart from the artifacts and sculptures, which belong to the historical times of the state. the museums also showcase their traditional paintings.
Government Museum
- Region: Karnataka state, Bangalore
- Special Feature: India’s one of the ancient museums
- Founded In: 1866
- Timings: 10 AM – 5 PM (Closed on Mondays)
- Entry fee: Rs.20 per person
Government museum of Karnataka state is a storage structure, which has preserved the Southern part of India’s cultural heritage by a number of prime museums. Within Karnataka state’s museums, Government Museum is one of the ancient museum structures of this country. This museum has preserved the essential antiquities almost from India’s ancient civilization. The museum was founded in the year of 1865. This museum has multipurpose artifacts; it is located on the Kasturbha road. The prime attractive factor of this museum is implements & tools, which belongs to the oldest stone age. Government museum has stored the oldest artifacts; these artifacts are connected to the historical civilization of Mohenjo-daro & Harappa.
Karnataka state’s museums are the house of antiquities that were searched and preserved from approximately each corner of India. The paintings and sculptures which have been stored in this museum are very royal and rich. The gallery of paintings has scarce & beautiful paintings and belongs to Tanjore & Mysore style of art and Pahari & Rajasthani school’s paintings. Within the artifacts that are displayed includes inlay work, ivory carvings, sandal wood caskets are some of the attractive items which are majorly appreciated by the tourists or visitors. Ancient day’s armory & arms too are presented in this government museum for exhibition. Government museum also contains the terracotta works, belongs to west Bengal, chola, Pala, Nolamba’s sculptures, Chalukyan, Gandhara period’s artifacts, Hoysala.
Apart from the traditional art work and paintings, the Government museum also contains the modern & contemporary paintings and plaster of Paris work as well. You can visit this museum on all days but not on Government holidays, Mondays and second Saturday. The visiting timing of the government museum is between the 10:00am & 05:00pm.
Railway Museum
- Region: Karnataka state, Mysore
- Founded In: 1979
- Relevance: India’s 1st regional museum
- Timings: 09.30 am to 05.30 pm
- Entry fee: Rs.50 per person
This museum of Karnataka is situated at Mysore City. This museum of Karnataka has huge importance because this is the 1st regional museum in the whole of India. Railway museum has been placed over K.R.S road; this place is the heart spot of this city. It is on the opposite side of the Central Food Technology Research & Training Institute. This museum was founded in the year 1979; Railway museum has given a reputed place to the priceless collection of Karnataka state’s antiquities and also historical regional items. The structure shape of this museum is circular, it is also known as a Chamundi gallery. Definitely you will be surprised by watching the interesting perseverance of the ancient paintings, photographs, which presents the development story of the Indian Railway.
Near this museum, there is the Sri Ranga Pavilion houses, which has 2 rich coaches. These rich coaches have been created by the Royal train’s part of Mysore Maharaja. This structure showcases the bygone splendour’s era. This Sri Ranga Pavilion adds in the beautiful construction which has been decorated through the wooden carved doors, pillars, balustrades that belongs to the ancient railway station called Srirangapatna. There is saying that these work of carving belongs to Mysore’s royal wooden palace, this structure was demolished in an accident of fire. Through the Maharajas, the saloon was used; at present this structure is Delhi’s National Railway Museum.
The rail museum of Mysore has saloon of Maharanis and also dining care & kitchen. This Maharani’s saloon includes 8 wheels this was constructed in the Mysore Railway workshop, during the year 1899. Railway museum’s one part showcases the different tiny items which are connected to Mysore State Railway; it has the telephone of Mysore city’s Late Maharaja. The clock which is present on the Mysore Station Railway was manufactured in New York. This museum also displays the model of steam engine this model is the working model and broadest bridge’s model constructed over Hassan Mangalore highway projects. The outdoor portion of this museum displays the different coaches, locomotives and rail motor car. the prime attractive item of this Karnataka railway museum is the mini train, which operates on battery; this item is special for small children.
Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery
- Region: Karnataka, Mysore
- Originally Constructed In: 1861
- Famous As: Jaganmohan Palace
- Major Attractive Feature: Paintings of Mysore style
- Timings: 08:30am to 05:00pm
- Entry fee: Rs.20 per person
Karnataka state’s Jayachamarajendra Art gallery is one of the prime museums, which is located in Mysore’s Jaganmohan Palace. This historical palace was constructed during 1861. By the initiative of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar this palace was constructed; but during 1915, Sri Jayachamarajendra Art gallery was established. This museum of Karnataka is situated near the Mysore bus stand, the distance is around ten minutes which can be covered walking. Despite the Sri Jayachamarajendra Art gallery, this Jagamohan Palace also present the Sri Jayachamarajendra Museum. The interior arrangement of this gallery is still inspiring because of its royal look. after the state’s tourist spots, this gallery is a most interesting and exciting place, which just takes you in the historical period and shows the oldest things, which haven’t been seen yet. Inside this gallery, you also get the opportunity to take a look at the state’s craft & art culture.
The aspects about which you have to take care in this Jayachamarajendra Art gallery are the special storage of ceramics, antique furniture, sandalwood, oldest musical instruments, stone, popular artist’s paintings like Roerich, Ravi Verma, engravings & etchings Roman culture, photographs, glass paintings, textiles, armory, wood carvings etc. you will also see the famous and exclusive Mysore gold leaf paintings, these paintings are a real example of excellent art work. When you enter inside the Sri Jayachamarajendra Art gallery’s ground floor, you will get to see the wall paintings and portraits, these paintings display the various celebrations and generations of this palace’s royal family.
The portraits of this museum showcase the annual Dasara, wedding rituals etc. visit to Sri Jayachamarajendra Art gallery will be worth ; because Karnataka state’s real image can only be seen in the museums of this state. You can explore this museum on any day but except on Wednesday. The visiting timings of this museum are between the 08:30am till 05:00pm. To enter inside the museum, you first need to pay the entry fees of fifteen rupees.
Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum
- Region: Karnataka state, Bangalore
- In the Honor Of: Sir. M. Vishweshwaraiah
- Founded By: CSIR
- Uniqueness: India’s second of its type museum
- Timings: 10:00am to 05:30pm
- Entry fee: Rs.40
Technical museum of Karnataka state is a more ancient heritage; which is located in Karnataka’s metro city Bangalore. This museum is neighbouring another prime museum of Karnataka that is the government museum. Technical museum is a Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technical Museum; this museum of Karnataka is 2nd in these specific types of museums in entire India. This museum was founded by the CSIR; the prime aim behind this museum was to pound the science consciousness in the people. Technical museum has been constructed in honor of Sir. M. Vishweshwaraiah. He was the statesman, who put lots of effort to bring technology & science till the common man. This entire museum is dedicated to technology and science.
This heritage is showcasing the applications of technology & science in human welfare and industry. Here you will get to see the steam engine & airplane, which are placed within the compound area of the museum. After entering inside the museum, you will get to see the 5 galleries; every museum is committed to the specific factor of technology. When you enter inside the electronics room, the doors of the room will automatically close, the lights of the room turn on and you will hear the sound of music. as you speak, you can monitor the voice and many more things can be learnt such as alarms and motion pictures.
You can also attend the lectures, seminars and demonstrations, which have been organized by the museum in the entire year. Technical museum of Karnataka is very different from the rest of the museums of this state; but it creates excitement and interest towards technology and science through a funny way. You can visit this technical museum on any day, except specified holidays and Monday.
Archaeological Museum
- Timings: All days of the week 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM except Friday
- Entry Fee: Rs 10/-
- Visit duration: 1 to 2 hours
With a display of excellent sculptures, the Archeological Museum at Badami is a place worth visiting. The highlights of the museum are the sculpted panels, perfectly preserved, depicting scenes from the Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata. The pride of the museum however is the Lajja Gauri, a sculpture representing the fertility symbol, her face in the form of a lotus as she sits in the position of childbirth.
Folklore Museum
- Address: Karanji Layout 570011 Mysore, Karnataka
- Timings: All days of the week 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Visit Duration: Around 2 hours
- Entry Fee
- For Adults: Rs.15
- For Child:5
Situated at a short distance of 5 km from the opulent and majestic Lalitha Mahal, Folklore Museum forms an integral part of the constructed Jayalakshmi Vilas. It is located in the scenic premises of Mysore University’s Manasagangothri campus and ranks amongst the major attractions of the city. The museum is home to large collections of folk art and cultural products specific to the state of Karnataka. Housing about 6500 exhibits, the Folklore Museum is celebrated as being one of the most unique and largest museums in Asia.
Here, the many artifacts include puppets, household objects, ethnographic collections of regional toys, carved wooden figurines from diverse villages of Karnataka, rural costumes, metal artifacts, ornaments, tools, implements used in rural professions and lots more. Along with all this, this special building also showcases decorative masks, models of temples, ceremonial head-wear and leather shadow puppets. Not just items, this museum also provides visitors with an interesting glimpse of the region’s dance, music and drama. And yes, while touring the museum, do remember to take a leisurely stroll alongside Kukkarahalli Lake.
Regional Museum of Natural History
- Address: Siddharth Nagar, Indira Venkalinga Layout, Mysore 570019
- Timings: All days of the week 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Visit Duration: Around 2 – 3 hours
- Entry Fee: No entry fee
Located next to the Karanji Lake and with the backdrop of the Chamundi Hills adding to its scenic beauty, the Regional Museum of Natural History at Mysore is a landmark in this city of many historical landmarks. Promoting conservation and environmental awareness amongst the people, the museum displays the fauna and flora of South India, with a special emphasis on the biodiversity of the Western Ghats.
With different sections showcasing Life through the Ages, Interrelationships between organisms, conservation, diversity and geological wealth of this region, the museum plays a big part in promoting nature education and environmental awareness in the regions schools and universities. With a Bioscience Lab, a sound booth, a computer lab and many interactive methods to provide learning with fun, the museum is a big draw with the children.
Srimanthi Bai Museum
- Address: Bejai, Mangaluru, Karnataka 575004
- Timings: 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM
- Entry fee: No fee
- Time required: 30 minutes to 1 hour
If history fascinates you, then go and visit this museum that houses some of the most fascinating antiquities belonging to 16th century. The museum is now looked after by Archeological Department. Look for the manuscripts written on palm leaf and other paintings that are on display.
Venkatappa Art Gallery
- Address: Kasturba Rd, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560001, India
- Timings: The visiting timing of the museum is between 10:00am till 05:00pm.
- Entry fee: 10 per person for adults and 5 per person for children
- Time required: 30 minutes to 1 hour
This museum has huge importance because it is one ancient museum among other museums in India. This gallery was founded in the year 1866. This is a very inspiring house of Neo-classical construction. This museum showcases the huge range of artifacts and sculptures, which belongs to the various periods of the state’s history. This museum’s painting department is popular as a Venkatappa art gallery. This displays the extensive storage of Mysore’s traditional paintings. You can visit this museum at any day; it is open on all days, but not on Mondays.
- Also Read: many historical landmarks
