老挝国家博物馆于1976年3月13日由老挝政府组织成立，位于琅勃拉邦古城中心，在老挝国内的10所博物馆中规模最大。它的前身是“老挝前皇宫博物馆”，为国王西萨旺·冯 (Sisavang vong，1901年-1959年）在位时建造。“皇宫博物馆”始建于1904年，1909年完工。建立之初，它被用作国王的府邸、办公室以及皇家收藏室。1975年12月2日，老挝人民民主共和国成立，西萨旺·凡达纳国王（1959年-1975年）被迫退位，博物馆及其所有皇家收藏被收为国有，“皇家博物馆”也于1993年正式更名为“老挝国家博物馆”。

    老挝国家博物馆是一个三层建筑，总面积约3,000平方米，其中，展厅面积1,000平方米。它的展厅被分成不同的小展厅，每个小展厅都有一个主题，这些主题涵盖了老挝的史前文明和沙湾拿吉省的恐龙化石、早期文明、公元一千多年前印度化的孟高棉（Mon and Khmer）王国文化、老挝王国的澜沧（Lane Xang）文化（1707年-1779年）、暹罗法律（1779 年-1893年）、第一次印度支那战争（1945年-1954年）以及美国入侵（1964-1973）等不同的历史阶段。

    老挝国家博物馆致力于展示老挝史前及其以后的历史状况。目前，它的主要目标是收藏并展示具老挝本土特色的不同历史阶段的艺术品，当然也有少量法国殖民时期的历史遗物。在此收藏策略之下，现在馆内已有约12，000件老挝的重要文物。这些藏品不仅包括佛像、由国王收藏或民间捐赠的文物，也有艺术品及其档案和文献资料。正是这些丰富的藏品使得老挝国家博物馆的固定陈列具有了多维的体量和深奥的内涵，从而能够同时满足国内和国外观众的需要。不仅如此，老挝国家博物馆还收购了一些本地的工艺品商店和艺术家的私人画廊，并在此基础上不断丰富馆内的艺术品收藏。

    目前馆内展览分为主题艺术展和固定陈列两部分。主题艺术展每年举办一到两次，例如2006年将展出“琅勃拉邦古城现代摄影展”以及“老挝各民族服装展”。而固定陈列主要展出约占藏品三分之一的皇家收藏品。这些展览每年都会吸引几万名观众到馆内参观。

National Museum of Laos(Luang Prabang)

Established on 13 March 1976 by a decree of the Lao government, the National Museum of Laos (Luang Prabang) is located in the very centre of the town of Luang Prabang which is the largest one of the country s 10 government-run museums. Its first official name was the national museum of the former royal palace of Luang Prabang which was constructed in 1904 and completed in 1909 during the reign of King Sisavang vong (1901-1959). At the beginning, it was used as private residence and royal office of the king. While it came to 2nd December 1975, the king Sisavang Vatthana(1959-1975) abdicated from his position, following the foundation of the Lao People s Democratic Republic. In this situation, the palace and the entire royal collection were expropriated to the state s property. Until 1993, It was formally named to be the national museum of Luang Prabang .

The national museum of Luang Prabang is a three storied building approximately 3,000 square meters, 1,000 square meters of which is used for exhibition. The exhibition hall is devised into several parts with their theme. These themes focus on Lao prehistory and the major dinosaur bone discoveries in Savannakhet; early civilizations; the Indianized Mon and Khmer kingdoms during the first millennium CE; ethnic diversity; the history of the Lao kingdom of Lane Xang up to 1707; the division of Lane Xang into three principalities 1707-1779; the rule of Siam 1779-1893; the French colonial period 1893-1945; the first Indochina War 1945-1954; US intervention 1964-1973; the successful liberation of the country in 1975; and the period of national development since 1975.

The current objectives of the Lao National Museum are to collect artefacts that better represent the phases of Lao history prior to French colonization in 1893.Under the guide of this strategy, the museum has collected about 12 thousand works of Laos including the statues of Buddha and other relics collected by the king and donated by the local population, Photographs and cinematographic films, Historic objects such as stone inscriptions and royal seals and some art paintings. It s just because of the collections, the museum s exhibition is more understandable and interesting to both Lao and foreign visitors. Moreover, the museum incorporates a souvenir shop and a small gallery of paintings by local artists, by which the musuem has increased amount of its art works collection.

There are two kinds of exhibitions in the museum: Themetic Art Exhibition and Permanent Exhibition. The Themetic Art Exhibition is held two times a year, for example, Modern Photographs on Luang Prabang and Costumes of Ethnic Groups. The Permanent Exhibition mainly presents royal collection, which covers one third of the total collection. These exhibitions have attracted almost one hundred audiences visiting the museum.