It's About Time
You visited the Travelling History Museum!
Another museum?
History for most Sri Lankan students is a boring subject that one has to trudge through in the interest of passing exams.
Resolving to change this, ‘It’s About Time’ was designed with the aim of challenging how we understand history.
Spoiler- it challenges adults as well.
What’s different about this Travelling History Museum?
The Museum talks to you
‘It’s About Time’ resembles an ordinary museum in a few ways- there are objects, descriptions, and plenty of new information to learn and process. But that’s where the similarity ends. The narrative of the museum across four different zones is a strong, probing voice nudging us to think about big ideas like “do sources matter?” and “what role do you play in creating history?”
It focuses on how we relate to history
We’re not faced with giant statues, large artwork, and ancient artefacts that we’re accustomed to expect in a Sri Lankan museum.
In their place are stories and snippets from the lives of everyday Sri Lankans. This contrast doesn’t go unnoticed- visitors who have seen the museum often comment about how different it is to their expectations.
You CAN touch the exhibits
In fact you can do more than touch. You’re invited to taste, listen, and even add your own stories to some of the exhibits. Engaging with your senses while reflecting on people’s histories inspires thought about multiple narratives, in a real, tactile way. It’s difficult to resist tracing letters from ancient language in the sandbox at the “Scripted” exhibit, or writing down your family’s recipe for Pol (coconut) Sambol in the Kussi Mulla (kitchen corner.)
It Travels
An obvious point, but we mean more than just physical travel. In each of the museum’s locations a group of community leaders come together to serve as a Sounding Board. They give input on which of the exhibits to feature, the correct communications strategy to attract crowds and graciously step-in to take on any other task. Spotting these committed individuals and getting the museum off the ground has been possible with dedicated local partners. We’ve worked with Savodhaya Shanthi Sena in Kandy, Ms. Adikari in Kurunegala, Uva Shakthi Foundation in Badulla and Dream Space Academy in Batticaloa.
Who is the museum for?
The short answer is everyone. The more nuanced idea is that ‘It’s About Time’ is an accessible space for those who will otherwise not be exposed to a museum. Staying true to this purpose, we held the museum free of charge for anyone interested in the regions of Kandy, Kurunegala, Badulla, and most recently Batticaloa.
Even if the whole experience sounds daunting a dedicated group of youth volunteers from each location are trained to guide you through the museum. They’re able to guide you through each exhibit and help you decide which ones you may enjoy the most. To date they’ve expertly seen over 21,000 visitors come through the doors.
Next on the tour will be Mannar from 4-11 September 2024, and Galle in January 2025.
Why should you visit the museum?
Since Search Sri Lanka’s involvement with the museum in 2023, one of our goals was to increase awareness and acceptance of pluralistic narratives of history.
Experiencing the museum has allowed us to go further. Serving as a springboard, a tour of the museum has resulted in promising conversations with specialist groups like history teachers, public officers, women leaders, religious leaders and youth groups.
“As a history teacher, this museum allowed us to think differently on how history has been created. We were able to see new ways of teaching history through this museum. - Mr. A.R.M. Piyathissa
Over 75% of our visitors so far agree that the museum has conveyed the importance of considering diverse viewpoints when understanding history.
If anything, this tells us that the museum is not only a unique concept, but a personal journey. We invite you to join us and experience your connection to history- It’s About Time!
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The It’s About Time Traveling History Museum is implemented by Search for Common Ground (SFCG) with the Collective for Historical Dialogue & Memory (CHDM) playing a technical advisory role. The initiative is supported by the Strengthening Social Cohesion and Peace in Sri Lanka (SCOPE) program.
The It’s About Time Traveling History Museum was designed and piloted by CHDM’s predecessor Historical Dialogue, which was part of the Strengthening Reconciliation Processes in Sri Lanka (SRP) program. Both SRP and SCOPE are co-funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and the European Union and implemented by GIZ in partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka.
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