"Kudus District has several museums, including the Patiayam Museum, which stores tens of thousands of ancient fossils, including collections of artifacts that cannot be found in other areas. By studying history, (one) can develop a sense of pride in the nation's own culture," he noted in Kudus on Wednesday.
He pointed out that history lessons were not interesting for the current young generation. Hence, the seminar's participants, comprising community leaders, historians, and teachers in Kudus, were urged to encourage the younger generation to develop a greater sense of love for history, especially in Kudus.
One of the ways was by visiting museums, so that they can learn about the ancient life in Kudus through museum collections as well as by knowing the long-standing journey of the city, he noted.
Hartopo spoke of having to wait for the transfer of land ownership status from the village government to Kudus in order to further develop Patiayam Museum, which was currently located in a less representative place.
"As long as it belongs to the village, the budget cannot be proposed to the provincial or central government. Even if you want to conduct development, you have to rely on the Kudus Regional Budget (APBD)," he explained.
As of now, the regional finance was inadequate to expand the Patiayam Museum, as most of it was channelled for COVID-19 handling, he noted.
He expects the land to be bought or swapped/exchanged, so that later it could be further developed, thereby enabling it to accommodate all fossils found in the Patiayam Mountains.
The Seminar on Study Results of the Patiayam Archaeological Site Museum Collection presented two speakers from the Curator of the Museum Collection of the Sangiran Early Human Site Preservation Center, Cahya Ratna Mahendrani and Maya Damayanti, who are actively researching historical objects.