Sabah State Museum: A guide for visitors

Discover Sabah's history, culture and natural heritage at this museum complex in Kota Kinabalu. The museum sits on a hilltop 4 to 6 kilometres from the city centre.

What you'll find

The museum complex includes:

• main building with 7 exhibition galleries
• Heritage Village showing traditional houses
• ethnobotanical gardens
• Science and Technology Centre
• Sabah Islamic Civilisation Museum (separate site, 15 to 20 minutes' walk)

Plan your visit

Opening times: 9am to 5pm daily

Entry fees:

• RM15 for international visitors
• RM2 for Malaysian citizens
• Free for students in uniform, disabled visitors, senior citizens and taxi drivers

Your ticket includes free entry to the Sabah Islamic Civilisation Museum on the same day.

How to get there:

• Bus No. 13 from city centre (RM1)
• Taxi from city centre or airport
• Address: Jalan Muzium, 88300 Kota Kinabalu

Time needed: Allow 2 hours for a general visit. You may want half a day if you're interested in Borneo's history and culture.

Current information: Some galleries may be closed for renovation. The Heritage Village and Science Centre usually remain open.

The main building

The building's design is based on the traditional Rungus longhouse. Built in 1985, its roof columns represent dancers from the Kadazan harvest festival and Muslims at prayer.

What to see inside

Bryde's whale skeleton

You'll see this 18 to 20 metre skeleton when you enter the main hall. The whale stranded on Gaya Island in December 2006. Rescue teams from government departments, universities and the public tried to save it, but it died after 3 days. The skeleton is now the largest whale skeleton on display in Malaysia.

Ceramic Gallery

See ceramics imported through trade from China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan and Europe. Ceramic jars were important in Sabah for more than a thousand years. People used them for storage, wine-making, weddings and burial.

Ancient Culture Gallery

View prehistoric finds from North Borneo including:

• stone tools and pottery
• coffins decorated with cattle heads
• Vietnamese bronze drums

Sabah History Gallery

Follow 500 years of history from:

• the Brunei Sultanate
• the Sulu Sultanate
• British rule and the North Borneo Chartered Company
• Japanese occupation in World War II
• joining Malaysia in 1963

Natural History Gallery

Explore Sabah's ecosystems through specimens of local plants and animals. See rare species including the clouded leopard and local medicinal plants.

Ethnography Gallery

Learn about Sabah's 32 indigenous groups through their:

• traditional costumes and accessories
• handicrafts and farming tools
• musical instruments (which you can play in a soundproof room)
• basketwork showing different tribal designs

The Heritage Village

Walk through traditional houses from Sabah's ethnic communities. Each house contains authentic household items and tools.

Houses include:

• Bajau House with a wedding dais
• Murut Longhouse with a lansaran (traditional trampoline)
• Rungus Longhouse showing communal living
• Chinese Hakka House with period furniture
• Brunei Traditional House with a traditional kitchen
• Bisaya House displaying fishing tools
• Bonggi House and Iranun House

You'll also see:

• traditional processing huts for rubber, sugarcane and coconut oil
• farming tools including ploughs and scarecrows
• fishing boats and equipment

Science and Technology Centre

The centre has 3 exhibitions:

• oil and gas production in Sabah
• history of broadcasting in Sabah
• North Borneo Railway with a vintage carriage

Ethnobotanical Gardens

The gardens show plants used by Sabah's indigenous communities for:

• medicine
• food
• rituals
• decoration

A montane garden shows plants from different altitude zones.

History of the museum

The museum started in a shophouse on Gaya Street in 1965. It opened on 15 July 1965, largely due to the Sabah Society's efforts.

The Woolley Collection

George Cathcart Woolley (1876 to 1947) worked for the North Borneo Chartered Company from 1901. His work took him across North Borneo to survey land and settle disputes. He became interested in indigenous cultures and collected:

• 2,843 photographs (filling 17 albums)
• 1,797 glass plate negatives (1909 to 1920)
• artefacts including weapons
• diaries from 1901 to 1926

This collection became the museum's foundation when it opened in 1965. The first curator was E.J. Berwick.

Moving to the current site

In 1981, the museum became a state institution. Chief Minister Harris Salleh started building a new museum with a budget of RM31.2 million.

The new building opened on 11 April 1984. Malaysia's Yang di-Pertuan Agong (head of state) officiated the opening.

Why visit

The museum shows how Sabah's diverse ethnic groups:

• adapted to their environment
• developed distinct cultures and traditions
• connected with other regions through trade

It helps you understand:

• Sabah's colonial past and how it shaped the present
• the relationship between Sabah's peoples and neighbouring territories
• how museums preserve cultural heritage in a multicultural society

Contact

Phone: +60 88 253 199, +60 88 263 551, +60 88 240 230

Email: muzium.sabah@sabah.gov.my

Website: museum.sabah.gov.my

Accessibility note

Before visiting, you may want to check which galleries are currently open. Some parts of the museum undergo renovation from time to time.