Sarawak State Museum

The Sarawak State Museum is a major museum located in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, Malaysia, and was founded in the late 19th century. It is one of the oldest museums in Borneo and holds extensive natural history and ethnographic collections.

Exhibition highlights include long-term displays of indigenous material culture, taxidermy and natural history specimens, and archaeological finds from Sarawak. The museum has served both research and public-education roles and has been a centre for collecting and documenting the region’s biodiversity and cultures.

The institution was established during the Brooke era and expanded its collections and facilities over subsequent decades to serve as Sarawak’s principal museum. Conservation, cataloguing and exhibition work have continued into the modern period.

The museum is situated in Kuching city, the administrative and cultural hub of Sarawak on the island of Borneo, and is accessible from the urban centre.

• Founding and collections: The museum was founded in the late 19th century and is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in Borneo, with substantial ethnographic and natural history collections.
• Collection strengths: Displays are strong on indigenous material culture from Sarawak's Dayak, Malay and other communities, and are useful for visitors seeking regional anthropology and natural history in one place.

What to See #

• Main galleries: Permanent galleries showing natural history specimens, ethnographic collections of indigenous Bornean peoples and archaeological finds from Sarawak and the wider region.
• Historic building: Historic museum building dating from the late 19th century that houses display rooms and long-term collections assembled during the colonial period and thereafter.