11.5.12 - Seremban State Museum

We went to the Seremban State Museum, which was situated in Jalan Labu in Seremban. The museum is house in a building reflecting the Minangkabau architecture, with its unique shaped roofs. Admission is free.

Lovely lattice design

Inside the building, at the exhibition area on the ground floor, there is a 14th century human skeleton, displayed in a glass enclosure.

We went outdoors first to see the wooden buildings in their grounds. There was a tall replica of megalithic stones outside.

The boys were most fascinated by the cannons

The Istana Ampang and Rumah Minangkabau in the grounds

We found out that this was a former palace. It was formerly the royal residence in Negeri Sembilan. The building is nearly 150 years old and was built in Kuala Pilah and later on taken down and reassembled here. It was built without any nails. It's remarkable how the wood can last so long. 

Outside the palace

Inside the palace

A Negeri Sembilan house

Wooden fishing boats

A Negeri Sembilan house

The side view

29.12.11 - Taman Jaya Park & Petaling Jaya Museum

This is our first visit to Taman Jaya Park. When I was a little girl, my mother used to bring me to Taman Jaya Park. I believe some of the playground equipment were from from last time - 25 - 30 years ago. They looked familiar to me.

Collecting saga seeds

We came across the Petaling Jaya Museum. It was a small museum. Entrance is free. 

Rubber seeds - I haven't seen this in ages

Petaling Jaya Museum

Situated at Taman Jaya (Opposite Amcorp Mall)

Opening hours: 9 am - 5 pm daily

Closed: Fridays

Admission: Free

17.7.11: Time Tunnel Gallery

We also visited the Time Tunnel Gallery, which is a museum that housed a collection of items from the past. Entrance fee was RM5 per adult and RM3 for children below 12 years old. My boys, still young were allowed in free. The place brought back some memories.

I remember sitting in a trishaw with my mother around Malacca when I was 6 years old. I didn't realise it was so narrow

 My dad made me a similar wooden rocking horse when I was little. When I grew up, I completely forgot about it and it must have been discarded along the way.

Trying out a water pump. In the earlier days, they didn't have piped water. 

I remember seeing this when I was little. I forgot what it was for. 

Trying their hand out at the telephone in the 1980's. 

Baby walker

Baby chair made of bamboo. 

Playpen?

In the past, a lot of natural materials such as wood, bamboo and rattan were used to make toys. It was much better then, with natural materials. Nowadays, it's mostly plastic.

25.6.11: Komodo Dragon and Reptile Museum

In TMII, we dropped by to visit the Komodo Dragon and Reptile Museum. This was the first time I've seen a Komodo Dragon. We only saw 2 Komodo Dragons there, which was rather disappointing. I thought that there would be more.

It was housed in a building that looked like a gigantic Komodo dragon. 

We walked around the outside of the museum first to have a look at the reptiles. There were snake exhibits outside. There was hardly any signs at the snake enclosures.

Komodo Dragon

Tortoises mating. The tortoise stood there standing with its mouth open for a very long time. S asked, "Why is that tortoise standing?" 

The second Komodo dragon that we saw. Visitors were allowed to go into the enclosure and touch the reptiles for a fee. 

S first observed that E was standing on a 'snake'. E looked rather nervous after that. 

Standing on and looking at the snake's body

This iguana reminds me of Liz in "The Magic School Bus" books. 

Inside the museum, it was dim and stuffy. There were exhibits of many wild animals there. They looked like taxidermy animals. We were the only people there. We went upstairs, and there were more animals, stuffed birds and bats there. The whole place felt eerie and we exited as fast as we could.

Wild boars