Museum Tours

The Museum Division was and is the core of the Indonesian Heritage Society activities. The Division itself has expanded to include School Programs, Language workshops, Museum Guide Training and Tours and Projects Section. The intensive Museum Training program, in collaboration with mentors and curators from the Museum Nasional Indonesia (MNI), runs for three months. It is the cornerstone of our Museum Tours. Our guides provide multi-language tours 5 times a week at the MNI and we also accept special requests from the public.

Important Announcement

Currently, the IHS is not conducting any Museum tours at the National Museum (MNI). Further updates will be shared once the National Museum (MNI) reopens.

Explore Indonesia without leaving Jakarta!

Experience the Indonesian archipelago in the company of a tour guide; see the treasures of the islands, and learn about the diverse cultures.

The Indonesian Heritage Society Tour guides give regular free highlight tours at the National Museum (Gedung Gajah) in English, French, Japanese, and Korean. Tours in a wide variety of other languages are available on request.

Please take a few minutes to review the Museum Nasional tour you've just experienced on Trip Advisor:

A good tour - Thank you Reshmi for a travell around the history and culture of Indonesia. I have learned a lot. Thank you for you passion and energy on the whole subject.

prfnmarques
August 17, 2023

National Museum excellence - Killian was a terrific guide for the National Museum. He knew his material very well, shared relevant stories, and answered questions well.

G Taylor J
August 12, 2023
One of the must-visit places in Jakarta - Simran Nanwari is very knowledgeable about Indonesia's history, and I feel I made the right decision to come to the museum. Her explanation enriches my knowledge of Indonesia's past and... read more

tunterence
August 17, 2023

National Museum in Jakarta - Very interesting free 2 hour tour of the National Museum in Jakarta conducted by Dennis, starting at 1.30pm. It’s so much better than just walking around on your own... read more reading the signs!

337angusf
June 15, 2023
Great introduction to a very diverse country - We really liked the English guided tour. The museum has a very good collection of diferent cultural objects that truly shows the diversity of Indonesia.
If you arrive to Yakarta... read more

30santiagorm
June 22, 2023

Great experience - I joined the free tour thinking it would probably be boring. But I was wrong. Our guide was perfectly professional and had extensive knowledge about all the subjects related to... read more

SebDesto
August 10, 2023
Free English Tour of National Museum - It was a 2 hours free tour of National Museum. I learnt a lot of things during the tour. Tour guide supplied lots of information about the things presented.

umit_coskun
June 17, 2023

Good experience! - The guide (Reshmi) is really good at explaining all the things they have at the museum. I learnt a lot and had a good time as well. It wasn’t boring... read more

devinaar
July 5, 2023
Our guide Reshmi was very knowledgeable and very enthousiast. - Our guide Reshmi was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
In these 2 hours she gave me a very good idea of Indonesian culture.
Thank you Reshmi!

yogini53
August 16, 2023

The English language tour was very worthwhile – it pointed out the highlights in the museum and explained their significance, and generally brought the exhibits to life. Much better than... read more

mark_SydNSW
August 19, 2023
Ask for the English tour - Simran was both an accurate and passionate guide: could keep even two small girls interested while spreading fascinating stories on the collections for adults. More than 2 hours of museum... read more

Curiosity799346
June 21, 2023

All parts are interesting and they make me proud as an Indonesian to see how aesthetic our ancestors were.

355springv
July 6, 2023

Tours in English

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
Every Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

Tours in French (upon request)

Every third Wednesday of the month at 9:30 a.m.

Tours in Japanese

Every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
First Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m.

For more information, please visit Japanese Section‘s page or kindly send an email to japanesesection@heritagejkt.org

Tours in Korean

Every third Saturday of the month at 9:30 a.m.

Tours in other languages, or on other days and times, are available on request.

Additional days and times or individual tours can also be arranged for embassies, companies, and schools. Please contact the Museum Tours co-chairs at museumtours@heritagejkt.org or the Indonesian Heritage Society Library (+62) 21 572-5870.

Museum Hours
Day	From	To
Monday	Closed
Tuesday	8:30 am	4:00 pm
Wednesday	8:30 am	4:00 pm
Thursday	8:30 am	4:00 pm
Friday	8:30 am	11:00 am
Friday	1:00 pm	4:00 pm
Saturday	8:30 am	5:00 pm
Sunday	8:30 am	5:00 pm

Museum Guide Training

Tour Guide Testimonies

As a guide, MNI is my familiar happy place where I continue my journey of learning and conversing with a multicultural group of fellow guides and a diversity of visitors; i.e. Tibetian Monk, Dutch currator, Russian artist, Singaporian researcher, etc.

I have been guiding at MNI since 2013. Learning how to guide at the MNI was a rewarding experience. The journey of sharing my knowledge and learning from other guides in various ways to make the collections interesting has truly been a highlight for me as a guide.

Being a National Museum volunteer guide was a gift that kept giving. Developing theme tours such as ‘Four Funerals and a Wedding’ ensured content stayed fresh. I hope to deliver tours on ‘Economics’ and ‘Agriculture’ when the museum reopens.

Being a museum guide at MNI gives me a rewarding experience. I have the opportunity of continuously learning through their fine collections. I enjoy sharing and take pleasure when my visitors look with awe at one of the museum collections.

The Japanese-language guides have continued for more than 50 years. As a member of Japanese guide, I deepened my interests and love of Indonesia's diverse culture and history with other guides. It is an enjoyable and valuable experience!!

Museum Guide Trainee Graduation

Meet our recent graduates!

The museum training course is a fabulous, intensive and in depth exploration of Indonesia’s culture and rich history . The professors and mentors were excellent and I am so glad I signed up for the course. No better way to understand the history behind the artefacts at the glorious museum national Indonesia.

Beyond the knowledge gained, what makes this training truly special is the friendships formed along the way. The interactive nature of the sessions and group exercises facilitated natural connections among participants translating into lasting friendships. It's a unique aspect of this experience that I will always cherish.

This was one of the best and most enjoyable training experiences I've ever had. It totally prepared me to be a great tour guide. The course was delivered very well with the perfect guidance of mentors and co-chairs

It was dense, intense, stressful, exciting, thrilling, pushing me out of my comfort zone, but what a rich experience! There was a great atmosphere and a constant motivation despite the museum fire at the very start of the course.

Joining the IHS three-month museum training was a transformative experience. We explored Museum Nasional Indonesia’s collection, honing skills and fostering deep connections and friendships from different culture, making it an invaluable opportunity for personal growth and cultural immersion.

If you would like to register, please send an email to the Museum Training team at museumtraining@heritagejkt.org.

Museum Tours

Important Announcement

Explore Indonesia without leaving Jakarta!

Please take a few minutes to review the Museum Nasional tour you've just experienced on Trip Advisor:

Museum Guide Training

Tour Guide Testimonies

Museum Guide Trainee Graduation

Become a member

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Indonesian Heritage Society