VITM Bangalore: Location, Timings, Activities & Attractions

Bangalore, the Garden City of India, is a perfect destination for nature lovers, history buffs, and seekers of spiritual bliss. While parks, palaces, gardens and temples are among the common attractions, your trip is not quite complete without a visit to the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (VITM). This major landmark is located in the heart of Bangalore and is well connected by public transport. If you have little ones, this museum is just right to nurture their curious minds. It might appear small and compact on the outside, but the museum boasts a built-up area of about 4000 square metres and is perfect for exploring with kids. You can spend about half a day here and enjoy a variety of activities.

Here’s some information about the location, timings, entry fee and facilities to help you plan a trip to VITM.

Major Exhibition Halls at Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore

The museum has four floors with seven permanent exhibition halls and three special ones. Each hall has an astounding collection of interesting and informative touch-and-feel exhibits. Here’s a look at the different exhibition halls that attract a swarm of visitors every day.

Permanent Exhibition Halls:

1. Engine Hall – How Things Work: If you are interested in automobiles and machinery, the Engine Hall is a must-visit. It exhibits different machinery parts of automobiles and explains how they operate.

How Things Work is a part of the Engine Hall gallery and a favourite among aspiring physicists. You can learn about different types of pulleys, inclined planes, levers and more.

2. Electrotechnic Gallery: If you enjoy watching exhibits based on different electrical technology topics, this gallery is sure to draw your attention. You can also see interesting demo experiments based on Barlow’s Wheel, Oersted’s Principles and Faraday’s Ring.
3. Space Emerging Technology in the Service Mankind: Keen to know about space, flight mechanics, satellites, rockets, space astronomy, space material and other related things? This gallery will satiate your curiosity! You will also learn about the many human achievements in space and beyond. It is the first space technology gallery in India and is backed by research done by ISRO.
4. Biotechnological Revolution: In this gallery, you can learn about several features, research studies and results of biotechnology. It has different sections, such as cells, genetics and bio quiz, biotechnology in India, and bioscope and milestones.
5. Fun Science Gallery: If you are visiting VITM with children, make sure you check out this gallery. It has several sections with interesting games and puzzles based on the principles of mathematics, sound, fluid mechanics, atmospheric science, and other scientific phenomena.
6. Science for Children: This gallery has many wonderful exhibits on building blocks, sounds in nature, electricity, train, and more. Hence, your children can gain good knowledge about science while playing their favourite games.
7. BEL Hall of Electronics: This gallery houses fascinating exhibits on digital electronics, virtual environment, computer science, and communication.

Special Exhibits:

1. Dinosaur Alive: This is probably the best part of the museum. You can admire the movements and shiver at the sounds made by the giant animated Spinosaurus dinosaur and also click pictures with it.
2. Science on a Sphere: In this gallery, you will come face to face with dynamic, animated images of oceans, the atmosphere and the land of a planet. You can also watch different short shows on the solar system, tsunami, and more.
3. Wright Brothers’ Airplane: Capture memorable photos of this full-scale replica of the Wright Brothers’ Airplane – Wright Flyer 1 and a flyer stimulator.

Activities to Participate in Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore

Apart from visiting different galleries and gaining knowledge about the marvels of science, you can also enjoy a plethora of fun activities at VITM. These include:

1. Taramandal Show: If you want to take a voyage through the universe and learn about our cosmic neighbours, this wonderful mini planetarium show is a must-watch. You can explore the night sky and see different stars, constellations, the diurnal motion of planets, and more. This interactive show has a narrator too, for answering your questions.
2. Science Demonstration Lectures and Film Shows: The demonstration lectures are apt for groups of school children. They throw light on various curriculum-based topics, such as vibrations, acids, bases and salts, colour chemistry, basics of electricity and magnetism, and more. You can also watch different science-based shows in the museum auditorium.
3. Sky Observation Program: If watching the sky through a telescope and viewing different celestial phenomena excite you, make sure you do not miss this activity.
4. Commemorative Program: You can also watch many commemorative events in the museum, such as the National Science Day, World Heritage Day, and International Museums Day. It also organises various science seminars, drama contests, and more.
5. 3-D shows: If you love watching films on deep-sea diving, you cannot miss the “Monsters from Deep” show. Even if you don’t know how to swim, you can enjoy a deep-sea journey where you can see some magnificent prehistoric sea creatures from the dinosaur era.

Apart from these, the museum keeps conducting many activities for children, such as the science quiz contest, science drama competition, science seminar, creative ability programs, and mobile science exhibition. There is also a virtual gaming area and many fun games and activities for little ones.

Attractions near Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore

After visiting VITM, you can also check out the many tourist attractions nearby:

• Jawahar Baal Bhavan (180 metres)
• Bangalore Aquarium (400 metres)
• Cubbon Park (550 metres)
• Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park (2.6 km)
• UB City Mall (2.7 km)
• Sree Kanteerava Stadium (2.8 km)
• Venkatappa Art Gallery and Government Museum (3.2 km)

Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore is one of the most interesting and engaging places for both children and grownups. A day spent here will surely boost your knowledge of mechanical gadgets, gears, space and other exciting areas of science. What’s more, there are plenty of attractions nearby to make your experience a holistic one.