Museums overlook English info

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A set of hand puppets at the Puppet Museum was carefully labeled: "A gift from Association Democratic of France Citizen Abroad who stayed in Jakarta".

The label also noted said that the puppets "originally came from Lyon 400 km Sout werd of Paris".

The Puppet Museum in West Jakarta has some 2,000 puppets on display and another 3,500 in storage. Hundreds of brief narratives accompany the collections, trying to provide visitors with the story behind them.

But in most cases the narratives haven't been translated into clear English.

"We asked people at Museum Bank Mandiri to help with the translation," said the museum's education division head Budi Santoso.

Museum Bank Mandiri is located near Puppet Museum in the Old Town area of West Jakarta.

"As the two museums here in Old Town, we help each other. We don't have a translator, so we had to ask for their help. It was a favor."

Some of the exhibits at the Maritime Museum in North Jakarta are also accompanied by awkward descriptions, like: "The characteristic of this sailboat is that it looks like a coconut husk." The raft with attached sail didn't resemble a coconut, either.

Elsewhere, the descriptive material accompanying a sailboat exhibit simply doesn't make sense: "First before they only used their boats made of a piece of log or composed bamboos."

Head of the Maritime Museum, Dewi Rudiati, said translation costs weren't included in the budget so the task fell to museum employees.

Budi said, for the Puppet Museum, translations weren't crucial because it was best to learn about puppets through live performance.

Tourists who visit museums accompanied by a tour guide perhaps aren't overly concerned about the quality of the descriptive information accompanying exhibits.

Michiel Boile, a tourist from the Netherlands, said he was satisfied with the Puppet Museum. "The museum has many puppets on display and they are quite nice. We got a lot of help from our guide who explained everything. Also, because I'm a Dutch, I already know what wayang is".

The Jakarta History Museum has six official tour guides, but when things get busy, all employees are required to perform guide duties, according to museum official Rucky Nellyta.

"If we are overstretched we'll get more guides. Usually domestic tourists pay a guide Rp 20,000 while foreign tourists pay Rp 40,000," she said.

A similar strategy also applies at the Puppet Museum. Budi said his museum had only 13 employees and all of them were able to do guide tasks or present a puppet show. (tif)

1. National Museum
Monday/National holidays: closed
Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun: 08.30 - 14.30
Fri: 08.30 - 11.30
Sat: 08.30 - 13.30

2. National Monument Museum
Everyday: 08.30 - 17.00
Last Monday of every month: closed

3. Jakarta Historical Museum
(No. 3 - 11 same opening times)

4. Puppet Museum
Tue - Sun: 09.00 - 15.00

5. Visual Art&Ceramic Museum
Monday/National holidays: closed

6. Juang 45 Museum

7. MH Thamrin Museum

8. Maritime Museum

9. Textile Museum

10. Inscription Museum

11. Onrust Archeology Park

Source: EnjoyJakarta brochure