Bihar Museum is a museum located in

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

. 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 artifacts were transferred here from

Patna Museum Patna Museum is the state museum of the Indian state of Bihar. Started on 3 April 1917 during the British Raj to house the historical artefacts found in the vicinity of Patna, it is in the style of Mughal and Rajput architecture and is known l ...

. It was planned as a history museum for the state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, and began construction in

Bailey Road, Patna ''Bailey Road'' (also known as Nehru Path) is a road and neighbourhood in Patna, India. It connects Patna with Danapur. It roughly starts from Income Tax Golambar and ends in Danapur, running through the heart of the city. It is one of the most ...

in October 2013 with an estimated budget of .

Overview

Didarganj Yakshi statue in the Bihar Museum

In July 2011, the Bihar Government signed a Memorandum of understanding with Canada-based consultancy firm Lord Cultural Resources in July 2011 to appoint them as the museum planning consultants for the project. In January 2012, following an international architectural competition, Japan-based Maki & Associates and its Indian partner OPOLIS, Mumbai were appointed as the primary consultant architect for the project. The completed museum is spread over 5.6 hectares, having 24,000 square meters of built area. Lord Cultural Resources designed the exhibitions in the museum's nine permanent galleries. Artefacts from ancient India to

1764 1764 ( MDCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday and is the fifth year of the 1760s decade, the 64th year of the 18th century, and the 764th year of the 2nd millennium. Events January–June * January 7 – The Siculicidium is ...

are on display in Bihar Museum's permanent gallery, while those of the post-1764 period are on display at the older

. The 2300 year old

Didarganj Yakshi The Didarganj Yakshi (or Didarganj Chauri Bearer; hi, दीदारगंज यक्षी) is one of the finest examples of very early Indian stone statues. It used to be dated to the 3rd century BCE, as it has the fine Mauryan polish ass ...

is among the highlight exhibits in the Bihar Museum. In October 2017, Prime Minister of India

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

visited Bihar Museum with Bihar Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...

Location

It is located in

, the capital city of the

East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...

n state of

. 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 fourth 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

Bihar Museum Children and Wildlife Section

Its collection of artefacts and exhibit items is divided into six domains: the Orientation Room, the Wildlife Sanctuary, the history sections on

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empi ...

and

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

, the Arts and Culture section and the Discovery Room. Among the exhibits are a simulated the

Asian paradise flycatcher In 2015, the Asian paradise flycatcher was split into the following three species: * Indian paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone paradisi'') * Blyth's paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone affinis'') * Amur paradise flycatcher The Amur paradise flyc ...

, the

Indian giant flying squirrel The Indian giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista philippensis''), also called the large brown flying squirrel or the common giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is capable of gliding flight using a skin membrane ...

, animals, birds, trees and plants native to the state of

. 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 Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...

, the second urbanization and

Haryanka The Haryanka dynasty was the third ruling dynasty of Magadha, an empire of ancient India, which succeeded the Pradyota dynasty and Barhadratha dynasty. Initially, the capital was Rajagriha. Later, it was shifted to Pataliputra, near the pres ...

. The whole collection of this gallery represents the advanced technology and sophisticated lifestyle of the Harappan people. The gallery has objects from the fourth century BCE to the first century BCE. It has objects spanning three major dynasties of India; the

Mauryas The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

, the

Nandas The Nanda dynasty ruled in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent during the fourth century BCE, and possibly during the fifth century BCE. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty in the Magadha region of eastern India, and expanded ...

and the

Shishunaga Shishunaga (IAST: Śiśunāga, or Shusunaga) (c. 413 – 395 BCE) was the founder of the Shishunaga dynasty of the Magadha Empire in the present day northern India. Initially, he was an ''amatya'' (official) of the Magadha empire under the Harya ...

s. The gallery also houses fragments of railings from various ancient Stupas that are carved on with episodes from

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

's and

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

’s life.

History Gallery B

This gallery exhibits artifacts from the Gupta Dynasty (4th-6th centuries CE).

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

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

Bihar Museum's branding and wayfinding signage consultants Lopez Design Pvt. Ltd received multiple awards for their design for the museum's brand identity, including the iF Design Award, German Design Award and the Kyoorius Inbook Award 2016 in the Writing for Design category for its booklet ''I am Bihar Museum.'' In December 2019, the museum received the GRIHA Award along with a five-star rating. GRIHA stands for ''Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment''.

Gallery

File:Bihar Museum 02.jpg File:Bihar Museum 04.jpg File:Bihar Museum 07.jpg File:Bihar Museum 11.jpg, Children's Orientation File:Bihar Museum Entrance Lobby.jpg, Museum Entrance File:Bihar Museum Art Installation.jpg

References

External links

Official website of Bihar Museum
{{Tourist attractions in Patna Museums in Patna State museums in India Government buildings in Bihar 2015 establishments in Bihar Museums established in 2015