Musing on the past

OFFER YOUNG THAIS the choice of where they’d like to go for a day out and the chances are they will choose to visit a shopping mall, amusement park or, more likely in this heat, a water park.

Only very few, if any, will say they want to go to a museum. These they tend to regard as venues for educational outings, usually pushed on them by their school, to develop knowledge of particular subjects or to learn about other cultures. But as a fun day out? No way!

Today’s museums, though, are no longer the musty, staid or boring places of times past. The exhibitions are invariably interactive and offer quizzes and activities in which the youngsters can participate. 

Three years ago, the National Discovery Museum Institute came up with an innovative marketing idea that would help it and other museums to achieve their target visitor numbers. The Muse Pass, the country’s only all-inclusive museum package, has enjoyed a certain success in attracting more people to visit the museums and learning centres, and in generating more stable income for the venues themselves.

 “Museum Siam is creating a museum culture that enhances the overall museum experience with a new and innovative style. We don’t only develop our museums through better exhibitions but we also focus on the demand side. The Muse Pass allows people to visit many museums. It’s really worthwhile and the hope is that it will encourages families members to visit lots of different museums and realise that these places are not boring at all,” says Rames Promyen, director-general of the National Discovery Museum Institute.

Rames admits, however, that the response could be better. “Youngsters have no experience of museums so we are trying to persuade them to try to our new product. New generation visitors are coming but we need to attract many more,” he says. 

Singer Natjaree “Cherreen” Horvejkul, who found fame on the ninth season of “The Star”, is a film major at Bangkok University’s School of Communication Arts. She says her trips abroad have sparked an interest in fine arts and antiques.

“I’ve had several chances to travel with my parents and friends and we always visit museums. They inspire me in my scriptwriting and moviemaking. I think the Muse Pass is great as it comes with a list of museums and a map and you pay just once for a 40-museum tour.”

When it was first introduced back in 2013, the Bt199-pass covered just four museums. Over the last two years that’s grown to 30 venues and this year, it allows entry to 40 museums – all for the original price.

The 40 include eight learning centres: the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden in Chiang Mai, Phu Wiang Fossil Research Centre and Dinosaur Museum in Khon Kaen, the Sirindhorn Museum in Kalasin, Phuket Aquarium, the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand in Chiang Mai, the Regional Observatories in Chachoengsao and Nakhon Ratchasima and Bangkok’s Dusit Zoo.

“Interest is growing,” says Rames. “We look at the percentage of people who have visited more than one museums. Anyone who visits all 40 will receive a prize.”

The museums and learning centres – 28 in Bangkok and its outskirts and 12 upcountry – are listed on a map and categorised for easy reference.

History and archaeology are be found at King Prajadhipok Museum, the Coin Museum Treasury Department of Thailand and Museum Siam, while for arts and culture, it’s best to head to the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum, Art in Paradise Bangkok, Ratchadamnoen Contemporary Art Centre and Khon Village.

Science and natural science are covered at the GIT Gem and Jewellery Museum and Real Zoo, communities at Pipit Banglamphu Local Heritage Museum and Sergeant Major Thawee Folk Museum. And fans of curios and collectibles will want to check out the Batcat Museum and Toys Thailand, the Tooney Toy Museum, the Suksasom Museum and Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

“We have 60,000 pieces in our collection and we are particularly proud of our Batman figures, which date from the 1960s to nowadays, from TV star Adam West to ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’,” says Somchai Nitimongkolchai, the founder of Batcat. 

“We target local families, children and adolescents as well as tour groups from Hong Kong and Indonesia. We have everything from vintage toys to rare pieces, including a tin Batman robot that’s worth more than Bt700,000. You can learn about the development of toys of pick up a second-hand piece. I would like more toy museums to take part in this pass and help us encourage children and youth to use their imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge,” he adds.

Ripley’s general manager Waranyu Thipayamontri is also proud of his museum.

“We were the first Ripley’s in Thailand and indeed in Asia. Some 85,000 pieces in the main collection rotate around the 95 branches in the world with each of us stocking about 350 to 400 pieces at any one time. Right now, we are displaying a tribal mask covered with human skin from a village in Cameroon. In the next two years, Ripley will reach its centenary,” Waranyu says.

Teerawat Charoentaweesit, the founder of Suksasom Museum, set up his toy museum to mark his dad’s 60th birthday.

“We have 300,000 pieces and these are separated into five zones. The first zone is about the development of toys from the 1890s to today. The second zone focuses on old appliances and includes Thailand’s first typewriter. The third looks at old printed matter such as bill of sale for a slave and Thailand’s first title deed, the fourth is about miniatures and the last is about the retro market. We try to encourage the young people to have fun at the museum while acquiring knowledge,” he says 

Holders of the Muse Pass can also enjoy also privileges at restaurants and shops, among them Sala Rattanakosin Eatery and Bar, Cafe de Norasingha at Phaya Thai Palace, Flight Experience (Thailand) and the Muay Thai Lab at Tha Maharaj.

“Today we are working on developing the online networking connection between the museums. Right now because of the limitations of the museums, it’s all done manually with a pen used to make a cross in the relevant spot on the pass. Our aim is to develop a touch pass that will record where people are visiting,” says Rames.

 

FIND YOUR MUSE

 

- The Muse Pass costs Bt199 and is available at 31 member museums as well as 23 branches of KTC Touch and online from KTC World Travel Service, www.ktc.co.th.

 

- The pass is valid for one year. For more details, call (02) 225 2777 extension 123 or visit www.Facebook.com/musepass.