National Museum of Myanmar (Yangon)
The National Museum of Myanmar (Yangon), (), located in Dagon, Yangon, is the major one of the two national museums for Burmese art, history and culture in Myanmar. Founded in 1952, the five-storey museum has an extensive collection of ancient artifacts, ornaments, work of art, inscriptions and historic memorabilia, related to history, culture and civilization of Burmese people. The main attraction of the museum is the only surviving original Lion Throne of the Burmese monarchs. There are more than 4000 permanent objects in the museum. Public museums in Myanmar are administered by the Ministry of  Religious Affairs and Culture and can be classified as national museums, archaeological museums, regional cultural museums, and memorial museums. Furthermore, other kinds of museum are appearing under other ministries, like the Defense Services Museum in the capital Naypyidaw, or in the private sector. The museum is open from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, except on Mondays and public holidays. History. The National Museum of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar was first opened in June, 1952 at the Jubilee Hall Building on Shwedagon Pagoda Road, Yangon. The museum was moved to a larger location at 24/26 Pansodan Street in  1970, and to its present location in 1996. The new five story National Museum has been open to the public since 18 September 1996. Galleries. The museum's collections are displayed over the following 14 galleries or halls. Organisational development and international cooperation. In 2015, the museums of Myanmar joined the International Council of Museums (ICOM) for wider international cooperation. In order to meet international standards of skills training and development for staff in museums to protect, safeguard and share the country’s unique cultural heritage, the National Museum has also cooperated with the British Council Burma and the Collections  Trust, a London-based charity. Among other activities, training courses were organized to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to increase the growth and sustainability of galleries and museums in Myanmar.