August is a month that has an important meaning for the Indonesian people. The reason is, in this month Indonesia succeeded in declaring its independence as a country free from colonialism. To enrich your horizons as well as get to know the struggle for Indonesian independence, this time the Directorate of Junior High School invites you to explore 4 museums that highlight the history of Indonesian independence. What museums are they? Come on, see the following list.
1. National Awakening Museum
Located on Jl. Dr. Abdul Rahman Saleh No.26, Senen District, Central Jakarta, this museum holds various collections that describe the struggles of Indonesian youth through the Boedi Oetomo organization. The National Awakening Museum occupies a historical building complex that was built in 1899 on a land area of 15,742 m2. The building was originally intended as a school and dormitory building for the School tot Opleiding van Inlandsche Artsen(STOVIA) or Bumiputera Medical School. In this museum, you can see dioramas of the events of the formation of the Boedi Oetomo organization, the story of the struggle of Indonesian spice traders to be free from harmful Dutch colonial practices, statues of national awakening figures, the history of the revival of thought, the history of cultural awakening, and the history of the rise of technology in Indonesia. For those of you who want to see the various collections in this museum, you can do a virtual tour via the link http://virtualtour.muskitnas.net/ .
2. National Monument
The National Monument or known as Monas is a landmark of the capital city of Jakarta which was opened to the public on July 12, 1975. Besides being able to see the beauty of the city of Jakarta from the top of the monument, there are many historical events of independence that you can learn about in the national monument. There are Independence attributes in the form of the proclamation text, duplicate heritage flags, and Garuda Pancasila. In addition, there are 51 dioramas that describe the history of Indonesia from time to time, including dioramas that describe the situation in important meetings chaired by President Soekarno. You can see the collections virtually via the link https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/monumen-nasional%E2%80%8E .
3. Museum of the Formulation of the Proclamation Manuscript
The event of the formulation of the text of the proclamation of course became an important event in the preparation stage for the declaration of Indonesia’s independence in 1945. Therefore, the building, which had been established since the 1920s, was later inaugurated as a museum for the formulation of the text of the proclamation. The museum for the formulation of the proclamation manuscript is located at Jl. Imam Bonjol No.1, Menteng, Central Jakarta. The collections that you can see in this museum include the original handwritten proclamation manuscripts, the typed original proclamation text, the typewriter of the proclamation manuscript, and various rooms used in the preparation of the proclamation manuscript. You can take a virtual tour of the museum for the formulation of the proclamation text at the link http://munasprok.go.id/Web/tour .
4. Proclamation Monument
The proclamation monument is a historic location where President Soekarno read the text of the proclamation accompanied by Hatta. The Proclamation Monument was built on the land of the Proclamation Park complex on Jl. Proclamation, Central Jakarta, formerly Jl. East Pegangsaan No. 56, Bung Karno’s residence. This monument was inaugurated on August 17, 1972, by the then Minister of Information, Budiardjo. In this location there are also two other important objects, namely the One Year Proclamation Monument which was made in 1946 and the Soekarno-Hatta Proclaimer Monument which was made with a height of 4.3 meters and made of bronze. For those of you who have never come directly to this place, you can access a virtual tour at the link https://indonesiavirtualtour.id/dki-jakarta/Tugu-Proklamasi .
Those are the four museums that have collections related to the history of Indonesian independence. During this pandemic, you can continue to explore the history of Indonesia’s independence in these museums virtually through the links provided for each explanation point. Good luck, buddy!