The history of Myanmar museums from the earliest such as ancient palaces and Pitaka libraries, through museums established before independence such as Bagan Archaeological Museum, to the most recent-days is described. The establishment of the Ministry of Culture in 1952, 4 years after regaining independence, led to construction of the fi rst National Museum (Yangon) and several other museums. Currently, Myanmar museums under the Ministry of Culture can be classifi ed as national museums,

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... logical museums, regional cultural museums, and memorial museums. Other kinds of museum are now appearing under other ministries and in the private sector in Myanmar. There is an urgent need for collaboration between these different museums to form a nation-wide museum organization, in order to work together for the improvement of Myanmar museums, and to facilitate international cooperation.