There are the following Sections in this museum: (1) Local Section, (2) Archaeological Section, (3) Historical Section, (4) Armoury Section, (5) Maharaja Sir Ganga Singhji’s Memorial Section, and (6) Paintings and Manuscripts Section. This is a very interesting museum. Ganga Golden Jubilee Museum houses the royal rail car. The descendants of the Maharaja were accomplished shooters, so their awards and trophies are also displayed. There is a lot to see here.
The Local Section of Golden Jubilee Museum in Bikaner shows the arts and crafts, fauna and culture of Bikaner. There are here vary fine examples of indigenous art, such as lacquered kuppis of camel hide, lacquer work on wood, metal, glass, stone, leather and ostrich egg, excellent specimens of carving in wood and stone, large models of palace, carpets and glass-ware.
The Archaeological Section of Ganga Golden Jubilee Museum in Bikaner has an interesting and valuable collection of terracotta of both prehistoric and historical date, the Gupta terracotta discovered in 1917 from places like Rangmahal, Badopal, Pirsultan-ki-Theri are noteworthy. Among the more important exhibits there is a marble Sarasvati of 11 — 12th century A.D. from Pallu village in Nohar tehsil of Hanumangarh district and a fine Jain metal image of a dancer from Amarsar village.
The Historical Section of Ganga Golden Jubilee Museum in Bikaner contains a very beautiful set of large oil paintings depicting military expeditions of the past rulers of Bikaner. A unique furgal (a great coat) of Emperor Jahangir with inter-woven figures and letters is a masterpiece of Persian art in this Section. This was presented by the Emperor to Raja Rai Singhji of Bikaner. There are several original ‘farmans’ of the Mughal Emperors, Jahangir, Shahjahan, Aurangzeb and Shah Alam in Historical Section. This section displays the original ‘firman’ (royal injunction) by the then crown prince Jahangir summoning Raja Rai Singh of Bikaner to Agra as Akbar was on his deathbed. Bikaner was a prominent kingdom in Rajasthan then.
In the Armoury Section of Ganga Golden Jubilee Museum in Bikaner is a variety of weapons of medieval date brought by Maharaja Anup Singhji of Bikaner from the fort of Aduni. It has excellent specimens of Wootz Steel daggers and swords. The Maharaja’s Memorial Section contains a number of large oil paintings illustrating the life of Maharaja Sri Ganga Singhji.
The Paintings and Manuscripts Section contains paintings of various sub-schools of Rajasthan and other schools of painting, manuscripts and other art objects. The Numismatic Gallery This is one of the few museums in India where the original specimens of coins from royal collection have been displayed. The coins are very well labeled and attributed.
The museum has a small library intended only for departmental use. School children and college students are taken round by the curator who explains the exhibits. All facilities are given to the postgraduate students and other scholars to examine the original exhibits. The labels are in English and Hindi. The museum is administered by the curator under the Chief Superintendent, Archaeology and Museums, Rajasthan.
The Ganga Golden Jubilee Museum in Bikaner is suitably located and hundreds of tourists visit daily. On special occasions like festivals & local fairs like Kolayat Fair, Bisnoi Mela, Gangaur etc the number of visitors swell to record high. The main sources of collection for the museum are exploration, purchase and treasure trove for which it is recognized. Anyone interested in weapons can spend more than an hour in the Armoury Section alone. Personal belongings and military uniforms of Maharaja Ganga Singh hold the centre stage.