The mission of the Museum is tocollect, document, research, preserve and exhibit the cultural andhistoric patrimony of the nation’s different ethnic groups. In itsfuture planning, the Museum intends to present the cultures andcivilization of other countries in South-East Asia and in the region aswell.

What does it have? Sincethe opening day, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology has attracted a hugenumber of visitors as well as ethnographers and researchers from allover the world. To date, the Museum has collected 15,000 artifacts,2,190 slides, 42,000 photographs, 237 audiotapes, 373 videotapes and 25CD-ROMs, to be displayed for all visitors. Besides a tourism spot, itis also a centre for ethnographic research employing many experts onthe different ethnic groups. Coming here, visitors may find out thatthe Museum has successfully recreated the daily life together with thereligious rituals and the symbolic festivals of each ethnic group inVietnam. All displayed objects mingle and supplement one another tocreate a colorful and diversified picture of Vietnamese culture.

Virtual indoor tour. Theindoor permanent collection occupies the majority of the exhibitionspace. However, there is a separate area for the temporary exhibits.The permanent collection is divided into 9 main sections, each of whichincludes objects displayed in glass cases and dioramas:

• Introduction
• Introduction of the Viet group (Kinh)
• Introduction of Muong, Tho, Chut ethnic groups
• The ethnic groups belonging to the Tay, Thai, and Ka Dai group
• The ethnic groups belonging to the H’Mong-Dao group, Tang Group, and San Diu, Ngai ethnic groups
• The ethnic groups belonging to the Mon-Khmer group
• The ethnic groups belonging to the Nam Dao
• The ethnic groups of Cham, Hoa, Khmer
• The exchange and mingle among different ethnic groups

Virtual outdoor tour. Anopen-air exhibition in the museum’s spacious and peaceful groundfeatures ethnic houses from all over Vietnam. The outdoor exhibitionarea is only large enough for the most popular architectural styles tobe presented. Already presented are the Ede long house, the Tay stilthouse, the Yao house half on stilts and half on earth, the Hmong housewhose roof is made of pomu wood, the Viet house with tile roof, etc.Between the houses, there are trees indigenous to the area of eachhouse, zigzagging paths and a meandering stream crossed by smallbridges. The outdoor museum is of much captivation to most tourists notonly for the cultural values but also for a natural landscape. Someeven said: “Walking around here makes me feel like I were in abeautiful park, very relaxing!”

Opening time. The museum is open during the daytime (08:30 a.m – 05:30 p.m) from Tuesday till Sunday (exept only Monday and the Lunar Tet Holiday)