[MALAYSIA] Sarawak - Borneo Cultures Museum

09:20 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

Spanning an impressive area of 30,000 meter square, the new Borneo Cultures Museum is the largest museum in Malaysia and the second largest museum in South East Asia. It is home to over 1,000 artefacts with 30% of the museum feature will be interactive in nature. The stunning gold structure of the museum takes inspiration from the diverse culture in Borneo.

Getting there:

It is just a 10-minute walk from open air market to Borneo Cultures Museum. You can also hail a taxi to get here.

There are three categories for admission fee: Sarawakian, non-Sarawakian and foreigners. At the present moment, you can only purchase tickets at the counter.

The museum is spread out over five floors. The first floor houses lobby, ticket counter, museum shop, restaurant, temporary exhibition gallery, auditorium and function room.

Level 2 - Children's Gallery and Arts and Craft

The second floor is the children's gallery and Arts and Craft. The gallery uses interactive learning and games to build interest and awareness in the younger generation to preserve and conserve the river.

For kids age five to twelve years old, they can crawl through this mountain which is made of river junks.

A lounge on Level 2.

Level 3 - In Harmony with Nature

Level 3 to Level 5 are for permanent galleries. The theme in Level 3 is "In Harmony with Nature". It showcase the way of life in Borneo. The highlight of this floor is the traditional house in Borneo.

Hornbill dance costume.

Replica of a crocodile.

Trees of life.

Level 4 - Time Changes

This gallery on Level 4 focuses on archaeological works and artefacts discovered in caves. The star artefact is the famous skull discovered at Niah.

This is a recreation of the Niah Painted Cave which is the site of a 32 meters of red wall paintings. The red pigment used for the paintings came from a local tree sap.   

Iban War Boat.

Uprising of Sarawak people.

Proclamation of Malaysia in English. It was a statement that declared the merger of the Federation of Malaya with the British crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore into the new Federation of Malaysia. The merger came into effect on 16 September 1963.

Visitors can flip through this virtual book and discover Sarawak's history throughout the years. 

Level 5 - Objects of Desire

Level 5 gallery houses artefacts which signifies one's status in the community. 

Tribal masks.

An interactive game to try on different style of tattoo.

Level 5 also offers some great views of Kuching. The museum is interactive and fun to explore. It is definitely worth a visit while in Kuching.

Borneo Cultures Museum