The displays range from free-standing tableaux showing cultural events like weddings, festivals and costumes; to traditional weapons, musical instruments, arts and crafts, ceramics, and flora and fauna.

[8] Other notable staff at Selangor Museum included Cecil Boden Kloss and Eibert Carl Henry Seimund.

[5]On 10 March 1945, during the end of World War II, the right wing of the museum was bombed and destroyed[16] by the US B-29 bombers, from the Allied Forces.

On the brink of independence of the Federation of Malaya, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman conceived the idea to build a museum to house national historical and cultural treasures[4] as well as specimens of flora and fauna.

The entrance features large mosaic murals depicting the country's history and culture, while the floor of the central section of the main building is adorned with special tiles gifted by the government of Pakistan.

[citation needed] In 2009, MVM organized the "Jom Main" Exhibition with the collaboration of National Museum, which revisits traditional games that children in Malaysia used to play.

Among the collections are the stone makara statue, the bronze Avalokiteshvara of Bidor, the model of Bujang Valley temple in Kedah, and also displaying region's ancient legacy such as Javan Borobudur and Majapahit vessel.

[citation needed] In the vicinity of the museum building, there are a number of outdoor displays of transportation in Malaysia, past and present.

Of unparalleled interest are the Steam Locomotive made by Kitson & Co, England, which was put into service in 1921 until it ceased operation in 1969.

It covered 1.5 million rail miles; a Tin Dredge which resembles a floating factory, on a natural or artificial lake.

In addition, there are two monuments in the grounds: a bronze bust of King Edward VII, and a statue of Sir Frank Swettenham.

National Museum also holds regular thematic exhibitions featuring specific aspects of life and world culture.

This building is of Terengganu Malay traditional architecture, in the form called "Rumah Tiang Dua Belas".

[citation needed] The restored palace is a wooden house designed for the tropics, with stilts that allow air to circulate freely under the building and a steep thatch roof to cool the interior.

Niched up to its sides is a space for the bodies of slaves and followers and hollowed at the top to place the jar containing the chief's bones.