Travel is one of the best ways to broaden your horizons, immerse yourself in a different culture and learn about the history of the new place. Visiting local museums are a great way to do so! To commemorate National Museum Day celebrated every 12 October, check out Agoda’s, list of the six fascinating new museums across the globe, including Indonesia
National Museum of Qatar, Doha, Qatar – Opened March 2019
Landing in Doha, it’s hard to miss the unique silhouette of the new National Museum of Qatar, located along the Qatari waterfront. With its eye-catching façade the museum is designed in the shape of an intricate and rare desert rose, featuring incredible, starkly angled interlocking petals that complement an expansive interior.
If you’re traveling with kids, this museum is a great place to open their eyes to Qatar’s unique history. Galleries and permanent exhibits trace Qatar’s development from a rich Bedouin and pearl-trade hub to a modern-day powerhouse of energy and technology. Exhibits are immersive and experiential in nature, keeping the kids engaged throughout the visit. What’s more, the museum also offers a rolling program of events that provides a fresh perspective to you and your family each time you set foot in the gallery.
Stay at the Golden Tulip Doha Hotel to enjoy the great views of Qatar’s shoreline.
TANK Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China – Opened March 2019
The size of 11 football fields, the TANK Shanghai isn’t your average local museum. The museum gets its name from its original purpose, the oil storage tanks for Shanghai’s Longhua Airport, which was built in 1917. These five tanks have been transformed by a Beijing-based design firm into an art and lifestyle hub. Two of these tanks are now reincarnated as art galleries, while the rest are multifunctional spaces for recreation and leisure activities, making the entire museum complex a wonderful place to spend time with your friends and family — with its great gardens, plazas, bookstores, restaurants and live music.
Visit in late August when TANK Shanghai launch its a one-of-a-kind digital experience which incorporates multiple exhibits exploring the relationship between people, art and technology that will feature including some of the most visually stunning art installations you’ll ever see. One installation, for instance, will virtually showcase a year’s worth of flower blossoms over the span of an hour. However, flowers only bloom if visitors in the room stay perfectly still. If visitors move or touch the blossoms, real-time computer programs react to these interactions and start scattering the flowers around the area.
After exploring the museum’s exhibits to your heart’s content, relax and unwind at The Sukhothai Shanghai near West Nanjing Road to finish off your trip.
The Shed, New York, United States – Opened April 2019
If you love art, don’t forget to make a pit stop at The Shed next time you’re in New York. This creative, energetic, and — most of all, gorgeous — space is a museum, performing arts center and pop-up venue rolled into one. The building has eight levels, and includes two large, column-free gallery spaces totaling 25,000 square feet.
The Shed is an amazing place for you to sit up and enjoy the wonders that the city’s arts and culture scene has to offer and discover new and bold artists from the US. This art center is committed to commissioning new and original artwork for realms beyond just the traditional visual arts, as it includes showcases for established and budding artists in music, theater, literature, and dance. Its crowning glory is its retractable outer shell, which can be deployed to create a 17,000-square-foot venue called The McCourt for large performances, exhibits, and events. When retracted, the space transforms to The Plaza — used as an outdoor public area for various arts programs.
If you’d like a break from the hustle and bustle, you can venture out of the city and stay at the Inn at 34.
Mori Building Digital Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan – Opened July 2018
The Mori Building Digital Art Museum, a large somatosensory art space that marries art and technology, has been described as Tokyo’s most Instagrammable spot. This immense complex features interactive digital installations, created by an interdisciplinary team of architects, engineers, programmers, animators, mathematicians, artists, designers and more.
The museum is divided into five zones, including the Forest of Lamps, an infinity room packed with motion-sensitive lamps and the Athletics Forest — a kid-friendly zone that encourages lots of hands-on activity.
Stay at the Daiwa Roynet Hotel Tokyo Ariake when you visit Tokyo for a relaxing visit.
Bauhaus Museum, Weimar, Germany – Opened April 2019
One of the most influential art movements of the 20th century, the Bauhaus School sparked a wave of innovation in architecture, design, dance, and theatre worldwide. The new Bauhaus Museum in Weimar, Germany was launched to celebrate the school’s centenary and features nearly a thousand masterpieces from the early days of the movement.
Perfect for art history enthusiasts, the Bauhaus Museum Weimar is a must-visit to learn more Bauhaus heritage and its impact on life in Germany in the last century.
Stay at the centrally located Altstadt Suite, a perfect location from which to explore the sights of Weimar. It’s walking distance to two additional Weimar treasures — the Weimar City Palace and the Duchess Anna Amalia Library. You can also book a private walking tour of Weimar to learn more about the city’s history.
Agricultural Museum, Bogor, West Java – Opened April 2019
Indonesia has just officially opened its first agricultural museum in Bogor. The biggest museum in Southeast Asia split into four main galleries, each of them will bring visitors to a different time from the early days of Indonesian agriculture history to Agriculture 4.0 in the future.
Located right across Bogor Botanical Garden, the museum is also a perfect Instagramable spot. You can choose backdrops like rice fields, farmer’s house, to agricultural tools. There is a cafe that serves various products like coffee, tea, and cacao from all over Indonesia.
There will be rooftop zone to enjoy Mount Salak refreshing scenery where you can rest at simple gazebos in the hydrophonic education area. Explore Bogor and the Bogor Botanical Garden from any one of Agoda’s 147 properties in the area.
If you are looking for more inspiration, Agoda.com or the Agoda app lists more than 30,000 museums tours available along with more than two million choices of accommodation to cater to all types of travelers.
