The Belau National Museum (BNM) is a non-profit semi-autonomous agency
originally was established in the former Japanese Administration Weather
Bureau in 1955, and is the oldest museum in Micronesia.
The Belau National Museum (BNM) is a dynamic institution for the preservation and promotion of the national heritage, exhibition of natural, cultural, social and historical values, and the development of arts at all levels.
The Belau National Museum is an institution of learning established to
collect, cultural, preserve and display object of scientific, cultural,
historical and aesthetic value. The Museum's purpose is to preserve and
protect the nation's cultural heritage through collection, identification,
documentation, preservation, interpretation and exhibition of specimens,
artifacts and other Palauan cultural property.
"In the belief that no song, no performance, no act of creation can be
properly understood apart from the culture in which it is found and of which
it is a part, it is the purpose of the Belau National Museum (BNM) as a
component of nation building is to identify, create, contextualize, and
record Palau's past and present through collection, identification,
documentation, preservation, interpretation, education and research, and
exhibition of cultural and natural property for the people of Palau."
To meet its mission, it is the objective of BNM to undertake more marketing, effective research, documentation, collection and presentation of artifacts, natural history and the development of activities aimed at stimulating interests in culture and the arts. To this end, BNM envisages as its immediate objective the following areas: preservation and promotion, education, heritage management, fiscal responsibility and the culture and nature of its community.
Chartered n 1973, the museum is governed by a nine-member
Board of Trustees. The Board of
Trustees governs the BNM and holds responsibility for establishing the
overall guidelines and regulations. The Board of Trustees has also
established a a strategic relationship with the Ministry of Community and
Cultural Affairs (MCCA), who maintains a similar focus as the BNM, which is
"to enhance the well being of the Community and to preserve and maintain
The Director/Curator is responsible for the daily operations of the BNM, which includes overseeing the nine sections of the museum: (1) Administration, (2) Ethnographic Objects/Art Collections, (3) Media Collections, (4) Research Library, (5) Art Program, (6) Ulekdubs Gift Shop, (7) Maintenance & Facility, (8) Natural History and (9) Museum Pedagogy.
The BNM provides a range of products and services, which include
permanent, temporary, and traveling exhibits, an amphitheater, and a variety
of community outreach programs. A traditional meeting hall, botanical
garden, and war relics are outdoor exhibits that visiting guests to BNM will
experience. The museum also houses the Ulekdubs Gift Shop and Keam
© 2010 BELAU NATIONAL MUSEUM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.