Kesaktian Pancasila Museum changes how generations learn history

Jakarta (ANTARA) - History museums may need to change the way they tell stories so that past events remain understandable to generations who did not experience them firsthand.

That idea is reflected in the new presentation of the Kesaktian Pancasila (Pancasila Sanctity) Museum in the Pancasila Sakti Monument area in Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated the museum on Thursday (October 1), coinciding with Pancasila Sanctity Day.

The museum’s transformation goes beyond renovating the building and exhibition layout.

The government has revised the storyline, timeline, historical context, and exhibition layout while adding digital technology and immersive spaces.

Culture Minister Fadli Zon said the changes were made to strengthen the museum’s function as a space for learning about history.

The changes also addressed an issue inherent in history museums, the same collection can provide a different experience when the way it is presented changes.

The dioramas, which for decades had been the main focus of visitors’ attention, are now placed within a more comprehensive storyline, giving visitors greater context for the events being depicted.

A total of 34 original dioramas have been preserved. They depict various events in Indonesian history between 1945 and 1974.

By preserving the authentic dioramas, the revitalization does not alter the main objects that form part of the museum’s identity. Instead, what has been updated is primarily the way visitors interact with the collection.

Zon explained that the refinement was carried out because the previous sequence of events and timeline were not yet sufficiently complete. Historians were involved in completing the historical narrative and context.

This change meant the exhibition flow no longer relied solely on three-dimensional objects, but also on information linking one event to another.

The shift in presentation style is visible from the moment visitors enter the exhibition hall. The museum now uses an in-situ concept, with a flow connecting the museum building to several historical sites in the Lubang Buaya area.

On the ground floor, visitors encounter a three-dimensional relief installation of the Garuda Pancasila emblem, followed by information on the birth and formulation of Pancasila, the dynamics of global communism, and the history of how the movement entered Indonesia.

This kind of arrangement shifts the museum's role from a space that displays a collection into a space that guides visitors through a sequence of knowledge.

Text, visual, and audio information serve as a bridge between the displayed objects and the events being explained.

Technology has then become part of that transformation. A number of dioramas are now equipped with video displays. The glass of a diorama turns into a screen showing video of the events depicted in that diorama's scene. The animated video was created using AI.

Meanwhile, the exhibition hall features multimedia and immersive spaces. Lighting has also been redesigned, so that visitors' attention is more focused on the dioramas, historical fragments, or visual material being displayed.

The use of technology does not mean the entire collection must be turned into digital screens. Some dioramas are still presented with narration, while others have additional multimedia elements.

The need to change the method of presentation is tied to the generational gap.

Generation Alpha, which has grown up with access to information through video, digital devices, and interactive media, absorbs information differently than museum visitors did in the early 1990s.

Relevant to the current context

The museum, first inaugurated on October 1, 1992, was born in a different context. At that time, presenting history through 34 dioramas was the main way to visualize the sequence of events meant to be conveyed to visitors.

After more than three decades, the way it presents information has evolved along with changes in technology and how the public obtains information.

The museum's name change follows the same restructuring. The building, previously named the Museum of PKI Treachery, now uses the name Kesaktian Pancasila Museum.

The new name is positioned as part of a single unit with the Pancasila Sakti Monument area, giving the museum, monument, and surrounding historical sites a more integrated visitor route.

The area itself has a long history in shaping national memory of the 1965 events. Construction of the Pancasila Sakti Monument began in 1967, and it was inaugurated on October 1, 1973.

Nearly two decades later, the museum was inaugurated on the same date in 1992. The 2026 revitalization again chose October 1 as the moment of inauguration, bringing the building's history together with the commemoration of Pancasila Sanctity Day in a single sequence.

The museum serves as the starting point before visitors are directed to several historical sites within the Pancasila Sakti Monument complex.

The relic room has also been renovated to store items related to the revolutionary heroes, such as clothing, watches, and other memorabilia.

The collection, narrative, technology, building, and sites are arranged as a single sequence, allowing visitors to absorb information gradually.

This change aligns with the challenges facing museums in Indonesia, which are no longer simply about preserving objects.

The Culture Ministry's 2025-2029 Strategic Plan places museum strengthening as part of cultural development, including improving presentation quality, leveraging technology, digitalization, and reinforcing museums' function as spaces for public learning.

The Kesaktian Pancasila Museum is working to turn that need into a real space.

At this point, the success of the revitalization is not determined solely by how new the screens, lighting, or immersive spaces are.

Technology's function depends on its ability to help visitors understand the relationships between facts, time, figures, places, and the sequence of events being presented.

The museum thus has a more complex task than simply keeping its collection intact. It needs to make the same collection keep speaking to visitors from different generational backgrounds.

Thirty-four dioramas remain in the exhibition hall. What has changed is the way visitors are invited to read the story behind them.

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