Portraits of great explorers hung in Ruang Sejerah — the museum’s history room. (JG Photo: Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)

Bank Indonesia Museum: A Room By Room Guide

Here's are some things to see and do when you visit the Bank Indonesia Museum.

Visitor Center

The 12 cashier rooms on the left side of the visitor center were used during the De Javasche Bank era and between 1953 and 1975. This room has a multimedia station where people can learn about the architectural history of the building.

A short film summarizing the history of Bank Indonesia is shown as a prelude to the Ruang Sejarah (History Room).

PlayMotion Room

Here, visitors can learn about coins using PlayMotion technology. The wall of the room is used as an interactive game surface, with visuals of falling coins. People can try to “catch” the coins with their shadows. Once caught, information is revealed about the coin.

Theater Room

With a capacity of 60 to 80 people, the Theater Room shows a variety of short films about Bank Indonesia, from five to 30 minutes each in length. For the younger crowd, the museum shows an animated film.

Gold Room

Situated in what seems like storage space, this room exhibits stacks of replica gold blocks and provides information about the importance of gold for the central bank. The blocks each weigh 13.5 kilograms and are said to have a karat grade of 999.9. Visitors can pick up the blocks to feel how much they weigh.

Numismatic Room

This room exhibits the museum’s money collection. The oldest item is Ma currency, produced by the Mataram Kingdom, which dates back to the ninth century. The newest is the Rp 2,000 bill, issued earlier this year. There are also more than 25 foreign currencies on display.

The room also exhibits Uang Token (Token Money), coins produced by Dutch-owned plantations during the colonial period, and Uang Khusus (Special Money), which was produced to commemorate certain occasions. For example, the Rp 850,000 ($86) coin made from 50 grams of gold, was issued in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence.

Currency Issuance and Circulation Room

Explaining the money production processes, this room contains money-sorting machines, bank notes and coin-counting machines, and an example of a UV lamp used to check the authenticity of paper money. There is also an example of the tree species used to produce paper money, as well as tools for engraving coins and a 1913 German-made printing press.

Visitors can learn about the history of Oeang Republik Indonesia, the first money ever produced by the government, through a comic mounted on the wall. Armando Siahaan

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