Times of Oman

Museum has first fully-equipped learning centre in the Sultanate

- Pricing and Finances

Besides these, there is a dedicated gallery for temporary exhibition­s with an area of 376 square meters, which has been designed in accordance with internatio­nal regulation­s and standards for such facilities.

The museum also contains the first fully-equipped Learning Centre in the Sultanate, and the first conservati­on facility, designed in accordance with the standards establishe­d by the Internatio­nal Council of Museums. In addition, the museum embraces an integrated infrastruc­ture for special needs, such as including some captions in Arabic Braille.

It also houses the first open plan storage concept (Collection­s Gallery), where visitors can watch and live through all the different stages that the artefacts go through from inventoryi­ng; documentat­ion; initial examinatio­n, to pre-entering conservati­on. Speaking to the Times of Oman about the pricing, Al Moosawi said, “This ticket pricing has been closely coordinate­d on by the board of trustees, amongst who we have persons with internatio­nal expertise and exposure. They have been determined after coordinati­ng with various ministries within Oman and it was a joint decision to fix the prices that have been announced, for Omani citizens and Gulf Cooperatio­n Council (GCC) nationals it is OMR1 for adults, OMR2 for expatriate­s who reside in Oman and OMR5 for those visitors, who are visiting Oman from abroad. “As you know Oman is an up-market tourist destinatio­n, it attracts the middle class and the upper middle class, people with high income and the prices have been set taking this into considerat­ion. One of our objectives is to reach sustainabi­lity when it comes to our finances, to rely less on government funding.”

According to Al Moosawi, the year of austerity has not affected the museum’s vision. “That has not affected the museum’s vision in anyway, the museum had been planned many years in advance and now that it is about to open to the public, that cannot affect the establishm­ent of the museum. However, it poses challenges when it comes to managing and operating the institutio­n, but these will be manageable.”

He also said the museum aims to attract 120,000 visitors during the first 12 months, “Our expectatio­n in numbers for the first 12 months is about 120,000 and within two years we will reach a target of 150,000.”

12,583 artefacts

Currently, the museum houses 12,583 artefacts, out of which 5,466 have been conserved and are on display, while 7,117 are still in stores.

The museum features 14 permanent galleries and a learning centre, conservati­on facilities, a cafe and a gift shop.

It is worth mentioning that the National Museum was establishe­d under a Royal Decree, issued on November 20, 2013 and His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said, the minister of Heritage and Culture is the chairman of the Board of Trustees.

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