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I ♥ SarawakLand of the Hornbills
The golden facade of the Borneo Cultures Museum in Kuching
Culture & Heritage

Borneo Cultures Museum

Kuching

Malaysia's largest museum — five floors of Borneo's story, in a striking golden landmark in central Kuching.

Front view of the Borneo Cultures Museum
Front view of the Borneo Cultures Museum · 愛子棋枰 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The museum seen from the old Sarawak Museum gardens
The museum seen from the old Sarawak Museum gardens · Cerevisae (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Opened in March 2022, the Borneo Cultures Museum is the largest museum in Malaysia and among the largest in Southeast Asia — a gleaming, rattan-inspired golden landmark rising beside the gardens of the old Sarawak Museum in central Kuching.

Across five floors of modern galleries, it tells Borneo's whole story: rainforest and river ecology, archaeology reaching back to the Niah skull, the material culture of Sarawak's many peoples, and immersive, child-friendly interactive halls. It has quickly become the single best first stop for understanding everything else you'll see in Sarawak.

Highlights

  • Five floors of galleries — nature, archaeology, culture and interactive halls
  • Treasures including finds from the Niah caves
  • Striking modern architecture inspired by woven rattan
  • A perfect first-day primer before exploring the rest of Sarawak

Good to know

  • Closed on certain public holidays and typically busiest at weekends — check current hours and ticket prices before you go
  • Allow at least half a day; the galleries are genuinely extensive
  • Combine with the old Sarawak Museum gardens and the Kuching waterfront nearby

Getting there

The museum stands in central Kuching on Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, an easy walk or short ride from the waterfront and most city hotels.

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Cover photo: Medelam (CC BY-SA 4.0); gallery photos as captioned — all via Wikimedia Commons.