A rich collection of artefacts, placement of objects, the descriptions with each of the objects and other particulars in the room, including natural flow of light and interiors, contribute to the rise in footfall at the Government Museum, located inside the Vellore Fort.
According to estimates, over 1.21 lakh visitors have visited the museum in 2019 and 50% of them are children. The administrators, including Curator K. Saravanan, have arranged the artefacts in a presentable manner for the visitors.
The Vellore museum was launched in 1985 near the Old Bus stand and was shifted to the present location in 1999.
The museum is exclusively dedicated for showcasing objects related to ancient art, archaeology, weapons, sculptures, bronzes, wood carvings, handicrafts, numismatics, philately, botany, geology and zoology.
The facility consists of eight galleries in which over 3,000 exhibits are on display. The number of visitors has increased in the last two years due to rising interest among students in history and archaeology of the country, said officials from the Department of Museums.
A fiberglass model of 16-ft lifesize Trynnosaurus displayed at the entrance is the cynosure of all eyes. Two 18th century cannons unearthed from Vellore Fort are also kept at the entrance. The Museum has a sculpture garden in which stone sculptures, hero stones, inscriptions from different places and gunpowder flasks, cannon balls are on show.
Mr. Saravanan said that plans are afoot to promote information on heritage and monuments. Attractive signboards, descriptive labels are to be added to the facility. Efforts are on to organise lectures by renowned professors and scholars on history of India, archaeology and heritage, Mr. Saravanan said.
