1 The role of national museums in the making of nations by Nuntamon Kutalad Each country naturally has a pride in nationhood and would like to present it to the world. Nationhood, in this case, means a state of having an identity and a story of how this country becomes the country and has remained as the nation until the present. The story may include many factors such as people, culture both tangible and intangible, history, and so on. One way to present the story of the country is to communicate via museums and so a national museum seems to be an appropriate means. However, there is still a room for discussion about national museums, whether they can be a tool for making of nations or not. This essay will examine the role of national museums in the making of nations by mentioning the action of national museums abroad and Thailand towards the role of making nations in comparison after finding out the definition of nation and answering the questions that what a national museum is, besides mentioning the role of museums in general. This essay will also mostly discuss about the actual act of having national museums as a tool of making nations. The final part of the essay, the conclusion will ask about if Thai national museum has already acted the role of making nation or not and suggestions. What is the nation? In order to be a nation, many factors are concerned. But what is a nation? In the term of „nation‟, Oxford Dictionary states that nation means “ a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular state or territory” (Oxford University 2013). Meanwhile, Peter Ravn