With historical storeroom treasures, ASI hopes to revive Children's Museum

The Capital is a repository of monuments, architecture and history — but rarely do the storerooms of these monuments take centre stage.

- Aheli Das

NEW DELHI: That's changing now, as long-forgotten relics are being dusted off and installed at the Children's Museum in Siri Fort.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been digging the storerooms of the Red Fort and the Purana Qila to find replicas of these historical pieces and install them across the museum.

Opened especially for children in 2011 with an aim to apprise them of India's rich cultural history, the museum was closed for two years between 2020 and 2022 for repair works as well as for planning installation of sculptures in its lawns, an ASI official said.

Those plans stalled due to a lack of funds, officials said.

"In the face of severe fund crunches, we decided to start with whatever important pieces we already had," said an ASI official. "We retrieved replicas and sculptures stored away in Purana Qila and Red Fort, and began installing them here."