In the system of national museums, the Vietnam National Museum of History was early founded on the material basis of the Louis Finot, a museum of the Ecole Française d’Extreme-Orient which was built in 1926 and completed in 1932. In 1958, the Vietnam officially took over this cultural building and started to research, collect and supplement materials and objects, converting the contents from eastern arts into national history. On 3 September 1958, the Vietnam National Museum of History was officially opened for visitors.
– The main exhibition system is the vivid historical book of Vietnamese nation from the prehistory (about 300,000-400,000 years) to the August 1945 Revolution. With an exhibition area of over 2,200 square meters and nearly 7,000 original artifacts, the main exhibition system is arranged chronologically. The main language of expression is the abundant collection of objects, combining the presentation of historical stages and events and the open exhibition, so it’s easy to update new artifacts, attracting visitors. Besides, the Museum regularly organizes topical exhibitions and equips a system of modern screens and displays to provide vivid images and exact scientific data to meet the increasing demands of visitors and researchers.
– The basic storehouses now keep more than 100,000 specimens and artifacts of different materials, including many rare and valuable items, especially the collections of objects dating back the ancients cultures (Hoa Binh-Bac Son, Dong Son), Vietnamese ancient glazed ceramics, Champa stone sculptures, bronze items under the Le-Nguyen Dynasties. Over the past years, the basic warehouses have been supplemented with many new collections from Central Vietnam, Central Highlands, South Vietnam and the old shipwreck near Cu Lao Cham Island. The basic warehouses are scientifically arranged and updated to be the best sample for other museums throughout Vietnam.
– The external affairs are always promoted to strengthen the exchange and cooperation with other museums and cultural organizations in the world. The Museum has frequently exchanged professional publications with over 100 counterparts and actively participated in international scientific seminars, such as “Socio-cultural development in the context of economic growth in Asia, 1994”, “Preservation of archaeological artifacts, 1996”, “The role of museums in the 21st century, 1997”. The Museum has adopted and implemented many projects: printing the pamphlets on exhibition system (with the Swedish International Development Aids); teaching and researching in universities (with the AUPELF-UREF), funding audio-visual equipment for advocacy and educational activities (through the Japanese cultural aid funds). The Museum has also dispatched its delegates to visit some museums in China, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Brunei Darussalam, etc.
– During its formation and development, the National Museum of Vietnam History has become a big cultural and scientific center of the country. Dozens of millions of people throughout the country and hundreds of thousands of international visitors from all continents have arrived the Museum and expressed their good sentiments and impressions on the historical of the Vietnamese nation in many visitors’ books.
For nearly 50 years, the significant achievements in scientific research and propagation as well as external activities, the National Museum of Vietnam History has established its prestige and status in contributing to the development and integration among domestic and international museums. Thus, the Museum has been awarded many noble medals by the State:
– Third-grade Labor Medal
– First-grade Labor Medal
– Third-grade Independence Medal
– The Government’s Challenge Banner.
