Natural History Museum draws large crowds

The Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) is attracting a large number of visitors, particularly students from across the country.

The PMNH has four divisions, namely Botanical Sciences, Earth Sciences, Zoological Sciences and Public Services. An official of the PMNH, Ikram Raza, while speaking to the media, said that the first three divisions are engaged in the collection, preservation, identification and research activities pertaining to flora and fauna, fossils and minerals and animals resources of Pakistan, respectively.

The fourth division, he added, is responsible for mass education and popularisation of natural history through various displays, exhibits and dioramas. He said that the Virtual Orientation Gallery (VOG) is a creative achievement of the PMNH in the field of information technology and consists of informative software on Pakistan’s natural history.

"VOG runs on a network of computer systems located in the PMNH Display Centre using touch screen systems for an interactive learning experience," he said. "It is an important project of the PMNH based on informal education regarding the natural history of Pakistan.

The VOG aims at providing interactive electronic-based information kiosk for students and the general public on the natural resources i.e. flora, fauna, minerals and fossils," the official added. "The VOG complements the existing information and awareness-related activities and features of the PMNH, including dioramas in various galleries, film shows, posters, brochures, workshops, seminars and lectures," he told the media.

Visitors can take a virtual tour of the different galleries of PMNH also for a virtual orientation of the museum. "Visitors get an idea about the location of the exhibits in various galleries of the Museum by touching Virtual Tour icon," he added.