The museum was designed as the integral part of the whole Taman Mini Indonesia Indah complex. It was meant as a learning center of Indonesian culture, "one stop to learn about Indonesia". The TMII complex was built and inaugurated in 1975 under the patronage of Mrs. Tien Suharto. The construction of the museum started in 1976 and opened to public 0n 20 April 1980 during the 5th anniversary of TMII. The museum is elaborately decorated with Balinese statues and ornaments. It was built in Balinese architectural style. Some large Paduraksa and Candi Bentar style Balinese gates, as well as several corner towers adorn the complex. The museum park took the theme of RamayanaHindu epic; the bridge to the main building took the form of Nāga serpents with vanara ape army that built a bridge to Lanka. The museum was built in Balinese architecture by a Balinese architect Ida Bagus Tugur. The main building consists of three floors in accordance with Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, the concept that emphasizes the three aspects of a human's complete happiness; to nurture harmony with God, with fellow human beings, and with nature.
Collections
The permanent exhibits and collections are arranged in three sections located on each of three floors.
First floor
The theme of the first floor exhibit is Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. It features traditional formal dress and wedding costumes of 27 provinces of Indonesia. The exhibit also displays Indonesian artforms, such as various types of dances, wayang and gamelan, also the painted glass map of Indonesia. The exhibit displays the rich diversity of Indonesian people and culture and also celebrates the pluralism of Indonesia, formed from different languages, traditions, religions, cultures, and customs.
Second floor
Manusia dan Lingkungan is the theme of the second floor exhibit. It is meant to showcase the interaction of Indonesian people with nature and the environment. The exhibit features different traditional houses, religious buildings, rice barn, and the layout of the houses and living spaces. These include houses built on elevated platforms, built on trees or on the river, and various styles of traditional vernacular buildings. The dioramas of parts of Indonesian traditional houses include a Palembang wedding room, Javanese middle living room, and Batak kitchen. Objects used in daily life, such as for hunting, gathering, farming, and agricultural objects are also on display. The ceremonies concerning the human life cycle are presented, such as Mitoni ceremony, Turun Tanah ceremony, Khitanan ceremony, Mapedes ceremony, Datuk inauguration ceremony, and MinangkabauPelaminan.
Third floor
Seni dan Kriya is the theme of the third floor. The room showcases the traditional and contemporary arts and crafts of Indonesian people. Traditional textile crafts such as Songket, Tenun, and batik are on display as well as metal and wooden crafts. The intricate traditional wooden carving traditions, such as the ones belonging to the Jepara , Bali, Toraja, and Asmat culture are on display on this floor. The centerpiece of this section is a large wooden carving of the Kalpataru tree, the tree of life. This eight meters high and four meters wide tree symbolizes nature and the universe and contains five basic elements; air, water, wind, earth, and fire.
Other events
Sometimes the museum also displays non-permanent or temporary exhibitions with specific themes, such as topeng, traditional textiles, weapons, paintings, also art and craft demonstrations; such as batik or wayang kulit making. Other buildings within the museum complex are Balinese park, Bale Panjang, Bale Bundar, and Soko Tujuh building that are available for rent to host public or private events.
