Sabah State Museum

The Sabah State Museum sits on a low hill just outside the Kota Kinabalu centre in a building designed to echo Rungus and Murut longhouse forms, and it covers the state in the round: ethnography, with the material culture of the Kadazandusun, Murut, Rungus, Bajau and other groups, including a set of human skulls held in the traditional way; archaeology from the Madai and Agop Batu Tulug sites; ceramics recovered from wrecks; natural history; and Islamic civilisation in a separate gallery. Outside is a heritage village with full-size traditional houses of each group re-erected around a pond, a botanical garden and a science centre. The whole complex takes a half day and is the best single introduction to Sabah's peoples available anywhere in the state.

History

The first Sabah Museum opened on 15 July 1965 in a shophouse on Gaya Street, largely through the efforts of the Sabah Society, and the photographs, diaries and objects bequeathed by George Cathcart Woolley formed the nucleus of its collection (Wikipedia, Sabah Museum).

What you'll find

• A longhouse-form building - the museum designed after Rungus and Murut houses.
• Ethnographic galleries - the material culture of Sabah's peoples in one place.
• A heritage village outside - full-size traditional houses around a pond.
• Shipwreck ceramics - trade wares recovered from the surrounding seas.

When to go

All year; check the closing day before travelling. Half a day.

Good to know

Some galleries are dated and have been closed for refurbishment at times. Photography is restricted in parts. The heritage village is exposed and hot in the middle of the day.

Nearby

Kota Kinabalu centre, the waterfront and the city mosque are close.

Key facts