By Renuka Dhakal/Aashish Mishra 

Kathmandu, Mar. 17:The major museums of the Kathmandu Valley are making arrangements to offer virtual tours.
Aiming to quench the thirst of museum lovers, promote museum culture in the country and make museums and their collection accessible to a wider audience even during difficult times like the lockdown, the institutions have started employing applications and websites to give people a digital tour.
The oldest museum of Nepal – the National Museum in Chhauni, Kathmandu – has already launched its virtual reality-based tour “with the intention to invite visitors to observe the museum’s galleries and artefacts from the place of their comfort,” said Museum Director Jayaram Shrestha informing that interested individuals could access the virtual reality (VR) tour by browsing the museum’s website.
When asked if this would dissuade people from visiting the museum physically by paying for tickets, he clarified that the entire museum would not be available to access digitally.
“We will only provide brief descriptions,” Shrestha said. “Imagine movie trailers. The virtual exhibition will give an initial taste and entice people to want to see more by coming here.”
“No doubt the physical flow of visitors will decrease if we display everything online,” he added.
Elaborating on this point, Shrestha informed that the museum planned to launch a full virtual tour service for paying customers.
Similarly, Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Museum is also planning to provide virtual tours to the general public, as informed by Executive Director Sandeep Khanal.
He believed that while virtual reality would enable researchers and foreigners a chance to study the museum, which would ultimately foster a vibrant museum culture in Nepal, it could also drive down the number of physical visitors, hampering revenue.
Bhesh Narayan Dahal, executive director of the Narayanhiti Palace Museum, told The Rising Nepal that his museum also planned to develop an application to offer digital visits. “But owing to the financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum, which is a self-sustaining institution, is finding it difficult to allocate money for the app,” he shared.
Narayanhiti also plans to charge money for the VR tours so it can boost its income, according to Dahal.
Leading the charge, Patan Museum has already finished its application and will make it available to the public soon. People will be able to download it and get a glimpse of what’s inside the museum crowned one of Asia’s most beautiful.
Meanwhile, the National Art Museum in Bhaktapur is waiting for reconstruction. Museum Officer Yamuna Maharjan shared that they would very much like to develop a virtual exhibition system but the current focus was on renovating the buildings damaged by the 2015 earthquake.
“People have not understood the value of museums in Nepal and a virtual tour app would go a long way in educating the public about museums’ importance,” she said.

(Read tomorrow’s Friday Supplement for details.)