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All Laos Vientiane Lao National Museum

Lao National Museum

American bombs, morbid memorabilia, and graphic photographs tell the story of the CIA-led “Secret War” from the Pathet Lao perspective.

Vientiane, Laos

Added By
Jessica Rotondi
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The Lao National History Museum is located in the former French governor’s mansion, built in 1925.   rotondijessica / Atlas Obscura User
The Lao National History Museum is located in the former French governor’s mansion, built in 1925.   rotondijessica / Atlas Obscura User
“Danger! UXO!” 18 million American bombs still lay hidden beneath the soil in Laos.   rotondijessica / Atlas Obscura User
Prosthetics on display near an exhibit on unexploded U.S. bombs in Laos.   rotondijessica / Atlas Obscura User
From museum caption: “Imperialist weapons.”   rotondijessica / Atlas Obscura User
Loa National Museum   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
Lao protestors holding effigies of Henry Kissinger.   rotondijessica / Atlas Obscura User
From museum caption: “Thao Khamsing aged 7, a citizen in Xieng Khouang province injured by U.S. imperialist bomb.”   rotondijessica / Atlas Obscura User
Protesting American military interference in Laos: “U.S., go home.”   rotondijessica / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Laos is known for its UNESCO-landmarked temples in Luang Prabang and the lush jungles located just across the Mekong from Thailand. Few realize it's also the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world.

Between 1964 and 1973, the United States army dropped 2 million tons of cluster bombs over Laos in a covert attempt by the CIA to wrest power from the Pathet Lao party aligned with the Viet Cong. That’s the equivalent a planeload of bombs dropped every 8 minutes, around the clock for nine years. The Pathet Lao won anyway, and this museum is dedicated to telling the story of that improbable victory.

Visitors to the Lao National Museum, housed in the former French governor’s mansion, are quickly hurtled through the early history of Laos via a small exhibit of dinosaur bones and a St. Patrick’s Day green diorama of the Plain of Jars to arrive at the museum’s true focus: the Lao Revolution of the 1970s. You’ll see photos of entire classrooms of children being taught in underground caves to avoid the bombs, though there are photos of broken children and broken buddhas, too. Many Americans are familiar with photos of college students in the 1970s protesting the draft. Here, you’ll see arresting images of Lao holding “U.S., go home” signs and burning effigies of Henry Kissinger; not the type of thing you find in most American history books.

Central to the museum’s narrative is the larger-than-life Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane, the revolutionary leader of the Pathet Lao and first prime minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. You’ll find “the gun used by Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane to protect himself during the fighting against the U.S. imperialists,” enclosed alongside “the briefcase for comrade Kaysone Phomvihane’s documents during the fighting against U.S. imperialists,” his tea kettle (you get the picture), and even a sort of bicep curl contraption used by the Comrade himself.

The permanent exhibit ends with a display of unexploded American bombs and prosthetic limbs used by those unlucky enough to have come across one. About 50 people a year still die from the estimated 18 million bombs still buried beneath the soil. If you look close enough, you can make out the inscription on one of them: “Front toward enemy.”

Update October 2024: The museum has changed location and is no longer near COPE.

Related Tags

War History Museums Weapons Bombs Protest Vietnam War Museums And Collections Lost Wonders Military

Know Before You Go

Note that the museum was formerly called the Lao Revolutionary Museum. Down the road from the museum is the visitor center for COPE, an organization that helps bomb victims with their recovery. It displays prosthetics as well as other artifacts and photographs telling the story of the war.

Community Contributors

Added By

rotondijessica

Edited By

peeter6, katielou106

  • peeter6
  • katielou106

Published

January 17, 2019

Updated

October 16, 2024

Edit this listing

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Sources
  • http://abcnews.go.com/International/bombing-laos-numbers/story?id=41890565
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37286520
  • http://www.visit-laos.com/vientiane/lao-national-museum.htm
  • http://abcnews.go.com/International/bombing-laos-numbers/story?id=41890565
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37286520
  • http://www.visit-laos.com/vientiane/lao-national-museum.htm
  • http://abcnews.go.com/International/bombing-laos-numbers/story?id=41890565
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37286520
  • http://www.visit-laos.com/vientiane/lao-national-museum.htm
Lao National Museum
328 13
Vientiane
Laos
18.007696, 102.645362
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Patuxai

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

That Dam (Black Stupa)

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

COPE Visitor Centre

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Vientiane

Vientiane

Laos

Places 7

Nearby Places

Patuxai

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

That Dam (Black Stupa)

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

COPE Visitor Centre

Vientiane, Laos

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Vientiane

Vientiane

Laos

Places 7

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