Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram

The Napier Museum is an art and natural history museum located in Thiruvananthapuram. The museum also has a space of over 55 acres for the Thiruvananthapuram zoo, one of the oldest zoological gardens in India. It also contains the Sree Chitra Art Gallery to display art exhibits. The set of museums and the zoo are managed by the Department of Museums & Zoos, a branch of the Department of Cultural Affairs of Kerala.

The museum houses a rare collection of archaeological and historical items, bronze idols, ancient ornaments, a temple chariot(ratham) and ivory carvings. The Mahabharata & Ramayana are the inspiration for the museum's collection of shadow play leather puppets. 

History

A  building was constructed in 1857 during the ruling period of Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma which was later destroyed in 1874 to lay foundation for a new building, during the ruling period of Ayilyam Thirunal. The Governor of Madras in 1872 appointed Robert Chisholm, a consulting architect of the Madras Government to design a new museum.

In 1880, construction of the museum was completed and opened to the public. The Indo-Saracenic (revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India) structure does not include an air conditioning system and was noted for various problems like insects and corrosion owing to the lack of windows and openings. From 2017, the attached museum storage has been under review and is being rebuilt. Furthermore, the Napier Museum itself is being renovated.

How To Reach

12C Museum Corporation office is the nearest bus stop from the museum at a distance of 500 m and can be reached easily by walk. Trivandrum bus stand is located at a distance of around 3.1 KM from the museum. You can take a local bus or auto from the bus stand.