National Museum's Secret?

Question

I spent a whole day at the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur last week. Seriously impressive stuff, the history exhibits were amazing. But I noticed a small, almost hidden door on the third floor, it looked like it led to a storage room or something. Nobody seemed to know anything about it. My question is: what's behind that mysterious door? Anyone know the story or have a pic?

filippina · Answer

ngl i've been wondering about that door too. a friend who used to volunteer there said it leads to an old curator's office that's been locked since the 90s. apparently there's still a bunch of paperwork and photos from the original exhibitions tucked away in there. no treasure or curse, just relics of bureaucratic history lol.

maditareinke · Answer

I asked one of the older guides near the entrance about it once. He said that door used to lead to a small conservation lab back in the 80s, before they moved that work to the new facility in Bangi. Apparently they'd do minor repairs on artifacts right there, so behind it is just empty benches and old chemical cabinets. The door's been locked since the lab relocated, but he mentioned you can sometimes see a faint light through the crack at night when the cleaners go in to check on it.

cilly · Answer

Honestly, the most interesting thing I've heard about that door is from a friend who used to work at Muzium Negara. It's not storage or a roof, but apparently it leads to a small archive room with old exhibition blueprints and letters from the 1960s when the museum first opened. She said they used to store stuff like diorama sketches and old taxidermy records in there. No photos though, they're pretty strict about letting anyone in.

otti · Answer

I've actually heard that door leads to a spiral staircase that goes up to a small rooftop area. Not open to the public, but apparently there's a nice view of the lake gardens from up there. One of the security guards told me about it years ago when I asked.

annabell · Answer

Probably just storage. Museum buildings are often labyrinthine with all sorts of forgotten spaces. Unless it's magically sealed shut with some ancient Malaysian curse, it's likely just old exhibits, cleaning supplies, or maybe even the museum's lost and found. No pics, unfortunately, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it. It's probably way less exciting than you think.

Neu aus Kuala Lumpur