BANGKA BELITUNG -- The Indonesian Tin Museum in Mentok is one of the favorite tourist destinations when visiting West Bangka. It's no wonder that the number of visits to the Indonesian Tin Museum in Mentok continues to increase.
Despite still being under renovation and relocated to the back building, the number of visits to the Mentok Tin Museum remains high. In early January 2024, the number of visits to the Mentok Tin Museum reached 483 people, and it is predicted that the number of visitors will increase even more in February.
In addition to local visitors, the Indonesian Tin Museum in Mentok, managed by PT Timah, also receives visits from outside the West Bangka regency to foreign tourists.
When visiting the Mentok Tin Museum, visitors will be guided by the museum's staff and ambassadors to explore the galleries in the museum, such as the Mentok City History Gallery, World War II Gallery, Hero Exile Gallery, and Tin Gallery.
The Chairman of the Mentok Tin Museum, Fahrizal, said that the Mentok Tin Museum has become a tourist magnet, attracting visitors to West Bangka.
"Today the museum received visits from SMP Bakti Parittiga with 90 students, Madrasah Tsanawiya Mentok with 23 people, and SD IT Alam Cahaya Toboali with 25 people. This indicates that the museum is attracting visitors to Mentok, West Bangka," he said on Wednesday (2/28/2024).
According to Fahrizal, besides tourism and learning about the history of tin, visitors who come to the Mentok Tin Museum usually conduct research and school study programs.
"Even though visits are currently redirected to a temporary building located below the Mentok Tin Museum building, it does not dampen visitors' interest in visiting the Mentok Tin Museum," he added.
Fathir, a 7th-grade student at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Mentok, said that he learned a lot about the history of Mentok City after visiting the museum.
"I am very happy to be invited by my teacher to visit the Mentok Tin Museum. I learned about the history of Mentok, about tin, and so on," he said.
Similarly, Saza, a 4th-grade student at SD IT Toboali, said she was happy to receive education at the Mentok Tin Museum.
"I am happy to learn about the history of Mentok City, heroes, and tin," she said.
Suwindra, the coordinator of the Outing class and also a teacher at SD IT Bina Alam Toboali, said that visiting the Mentok Tin Museum is a school program for students to learn in the field.
"This activity is one of the learning activities at our school. Students go directly to the field to learn about the history of Mentok, about heroes, and about tin at the Indonesian Tin Museum in Mentok," he explained. (*)
