Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery — Attraction in Kuala Lumpur

This is a relatively lesser-known museum with fewer tourists. The nearest public transportation is the Masjid Jamek LRT station, from which it requires a 1.5 km walk. The advantage of this route is that you will pass by several notable landmarks along the way, including Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Ministry of Works Malaysia building, Memorial Tun Hussein Onn, and Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Memorial.

Bags and food are not allowed inside the exhibition halls. Visitors need to register their personal information at the front desk and exchange RM10 for a token to use the designated locker area. Upon leaving, personal information is verified, and the token is returned to reclaim the RM10 deposit. During peak hours, the front desk staff may struggle to keep up with the crowd. While the staff is polite and helpful, I suggest implementing self-service electronic systems to streamline this process.

The ground floor of the museum mainly consists of a restaurant and a souvenir shop. There is a small area where banknotes are stacked to form a corridor and walls, providing a photo opportunity for visitors, but that’s about it. The main exhibition areas are on the second and third floors, displaying pre-independence Malaysian currencies and vouchers, the historical development of Malaysia’s currency after independence, as well as exhibits on Islamic finance and the country’s economic growth. However, many of the interactive devices were not functioning properly.

The fourth floor houses a permanent art gallery that hosts different exhibitions periodically. During our visit, we happened to catch a joint photography exhibition by local photographers, including works dating back to the 1930s, making it a great opportunity to explore Malaysia’s cultural and ethnic diversity. Additionally, the view from the gallery’s glass windows is stunning, offering a mix of lush greenery and towering skyscrapers.

The museum has put significant effort into attracting children by incorporating many kid-friendly elements, making it a popular spot for families. As a result, weekends can be quite noisy with a large number of children.

The museum’s central nautilus-shaped spiral staircase is quite famous online. However, after being decorated with colorful stickers, it has lost some of its original...

Free. No ticket needed. We use lrt/mrt?, walked across the river, and enter the museum.

One guard will ask you to register, later go to the lobby to either put your bags in a common cabinet or pat upfront RM10 to use a locked locker. That locker use a token (a very cute old 50 cent) and later if you give it back to the lobby counter, you will get your RM10 back.

The BNM museum itself is fascinating, amid some of the games are broken (obviously by previous visitors) and not fixed yet. By the time we explore ourselves from the kids zone up to level 3, there is one group that had spokesperson who told them a lot about the museum exhibition. I guess they book it in advance because the group is around 10 people.

The kids zone really makes me green with envy because the wall is full of real money!!!! And at the end of it is the ultra rare not in this modern Malaysia the RM 1000 notes. RM 500 notes. Oh myyyyy. Soooo much moneyyyyyy 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

I am not into art but there is this guy Ismail Mat Hussin flexing his batik paintings on a batik cloth. Man, it was really beautiful and awesome!!! Of course that guy wasn't there, he signed his painting with the name, and judging from far and up close, that guy is a league on his own. Really good stuff. Let's see if you are able to spot it in level 3. Or level 4? I can't remember the art museum level. Maybe not yet scan and used in midjourney llm maybe?

Lastly, worth the mention is the toilet the same level with the aet museum is clean and beautiful. There is no restaurant, but only a cafe with just some pastries and coffee and tea. No rice or heavy meals sold here. You can choose to sit near the transparent wall because there is a 3 pin power socket to charge your phones.

Oh, I remember. Near the lobby counter, they provide this cabinet that can charge your phone for FREE!. Choose a compartment, scan your fingerprint, connect the cable to your phone, close the compartment. When you want to retrieve your phone, just scan and it will open. It's not that fast charge, it definitely can charge.

Anyway, will love to visit again because we didn't finish watching all the movies, answer all the trivias, play all the games, Some of it is really a dry subject, but yeah, just wandering...

The Bank Negara Museum is located within the Sasana Kijang building. The museum itself is free to enter and open daily from 10am to 5pm, except on Mondays and certain public holidays. When you arrive, there is parking available in the basement, which was convenient for us. We parked on LG5, but navigating the lifts was a bit confusing at first. The lift near us had a sign saying, “Pelawat yang dihormati, lif ini ke lobi utama sahaja. Sila gunakan lif Muzium untuk ke Muzium dan Galeri Seni Bank Negara Malaysia. Terima kasih,” indicating that this lift only goes to the main lobby. There was another sign directing us to the museum lift, 10 meters ahead, which we eventually found and used to reach the ground floor for museum access. The museum has three main floors: First Floor: Features the Islamic Finance Gallery (Galeri Kewangan Islam), Economic Gallery (Galeri Ekonomi), and Bank Negara Malaysia Gallery. Second Floor: Hosts the Temporary Exhibition Gallery (Galeri Pameran Sementara) and Numismatics Gallery (Galeri Numismatik), where you can learn about coins and currencies. Third Floor: Dedicated to the Art Gallery (Galeri Seni), with various artworks including Batik and historical pieces from the 1930s? onwards. The environment was clean, and the staff were helpful and friendly, providing directions when needed. Note that bags are not allowed inside the museum; you can either store them in a locker for RM10 or leave them at a designated area near the information counter, though it’s less secure. We ended up placing our bags back in the car to avoid any hassle. There’s also a small souvenir shop selling items like tote bags, magnets, and keychains, and a cafe offering light snacks. We didn’t try the cafe, but it’s nice to have the option if needed. Overall, it was a pleasant visit and a great opportunity to learn about Malaysia’s history, economy, and art. Highly recommended for anyone looking to explore more about the...