The
National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is an institution devoted
to environmental education under the Ministry of Environment &
Forests. The museum owes it’s genesis to the late Prime Minister
Smt. Indira Gandhi, who while considering new projects to be initiated
in 1972 the 25th anniversary of India’s Independence, decided
that the country needs a museum of Natural History to depict its
rich flora and fauna, to provide an out of school facility for education
to children and to promote environmental awareness among masses.
The Museum opened its doors to public in the FICCI building, Barakhamba
Road, New Delhi on June 5, 1978 with a gallery on “Introduction
to Natural History”, coinciding symbiotically with the “World
Environment Day” to emphasize its role in environmental education.
During the last 30 years the museum has added three more galleries
with many interactive learning zones in its infrastructure, besides
establishment of three fully operational Regional museums at Mysore,
Bhopal and Bhubaneswar and another one has its building getting
ready at Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. For setting up RMNH for North
East Region at Gangtok, land is under acquisition.
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