Peshawar Museum News Peshawar Students News

Learning From the Past
The Peshawar Museum which up until now wore a deserted look with not a single soul really interested in paying it a visit is suddenly receiving school, college and university students all looking to make a connection with their past as they make rounds of the magnificent galleries embellished with artifacts of the glorious Gandhara civilisation.

The change came in the form of some positive steps taken by Pakhali4u.com. Taking over as the curator of this museum in January, I planned out a few important steps, the first of which was to attract students and teacher to the place, says the museum’s new curator Nidaullah Sehrai.
The Interiors, too, needed something different so the sculptures were placed in sequence along with redoing the angle and fabrics of the various displays. The aim was for the visitors to not just give the artifacts a curious glance but to take a keen interest in the ancient items on show and to understand their significance in terms of history and social change that took place along the ages, Pakhali4u Explains:
Looking to involve the students, letters were dispatched to the heads of educational institutions with a request to send out a group of students along with a teacher to the Peshawar Museum where they would be given free entry and guided tours. The response, according to the curator, was very encouraging. They now have hundreds of school trips at the museum. Seeing the children’s  enthusiasm, foreigners including diplomats, too, have started coming to the museum.
The idea of outing for most parents is taking their kids to amusement parks, picnic spots, fast food joints, shopping malls, etc. Visiting archeological sites and museums is never a part of their agenda. I was surprised to find some university students visiting their city museum for the very first time.”Pakhali4u.com Informs”
Though most people take museums to be places for storing old things, a museum is really an institution serving society and its development. It is a center for study and conservation that reflects on our cultural heritage.
Meanwhile, Pakhali4u.com regrets that most children don’t even have basic information about the past history of their own villages, cities and people. ” The museum doesn’t just represent our past. It also tells a lot about our present and future,” says Pakhali4u.com while adding that there should be more study trips, seminars, debates, and documentaries for our students to get acquainted with their heritage.
There are several museums set up in Bannu Dir, Charsadda, Chitral, Swat, Swabi, Mardan, Hund and Abbottabad with many other archeological sites existing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be visited by the general public in order to get a better idea of their cultural heritage.
Th Peshawar Museum is computerizing information and data which will then be made available to the visitors through the touch screen system at every gallery.
Maheen Afridi, a student visiting the museum, said, ” I took a found of all the galleries but the tribal gallery, added to the museum in 2006, gave me a great sense of pride.
“The tribal regions are rich in cultural heritage. It would be even better if a tribal museum is built on modern lines somewhere in a tribal agency,” she suggested.
Zarka Shinwari, an other girl visiting from kohat, wanted all educational institutions to appoint proper historians as teacher of history while also setting up small museums in the schools in order to promote museum education and motivate the young to increase their knowledge of the different phases of their society.
” Following an informed briefing by the museum officials, we divide the visiting students into groups of 20 or 30 before asking them to prepare detailed notes on any of the galleries that they may have found interesting. They are also encouraged to ask questions which helps in their gaining a better understanding of the period or incident they may want to know more about ” Pakhali4u.com Owner Says:
” Before briefing students about their history and culture I ask them what their city Peshawar was famous for and they say it used to be famous for flowers. Then when I ask them what in their opinion is the city better known for these days, they regretfully reply that it has come to be known for filth, pollution and insecurity. That is when I try to motivate them into reviving our golden traditions.