Regional Museum of Natural History Mysore, Natural history museum in Siddarthanagar, Mysore, India.
The Regional Museum of Natural History Mysore is a natural history museum in Mysore, Karnataka, that displays plants, animals, and geological specimens from South India. The collection is spread across several themed galleries, including a Discovery Centre with hands-on stations for visitors.
The museum opened in 1995 as the southern branch of India's National Museum of Natural History, under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. It was created as part of a national effort to build regional centers dedicated to the natural world of each part of the country.
The museum places a strong focus on education, and school groups visit regularly, making it a common destination for children across the region. The Discovery Zone is designed so that younger visitors can touch and handle objects, which gives the visit a hands-on quality that is rare in Indian museums.
The museum is closed on Mondays, so arriving on a weekday morning is a good way to avoid school groups. The botanical garden next to the building can easily be combined with a visit, as both share the same grounds.
The museum's botanical garden has Braille signs along its paths and a sunken footbridge that lets visitors look at aquatic plants from water level. This makes it one of the first museum gardens in India to be deliberately designed with people who have visual impairments in mind.
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