Sabah State Museum

Photo by Donna Dawson

Built in the longhouse style of the Rungus and Murut tribes that kept a wealth of historical, tribal treasures and handicraft of the indigenous people. Highlights are exhibits of 6 life-size traditional houses of ethnic groups, Science centre, and art gallery.

The main museum in Kota Kinabalu is the Sabah State Museum located at old Palace Hill, nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It is a unique complex built in 1985 with a museum, an ethno-botanic garden, a zoological garden and a heritage village – all in one place. Around the vicinity of the museum there is the Science and Technology Centre and Sabah Art.

The main building is inspired and based on the architecture of Murut and Rungus longhouses. Here you will find a central exhibition hall and six galleries with a rich collection of tribal and historical artifacts, relating to the people of Borneo, but also human skulls from Sabah´s headhunting past. You can also find an exhibition about the petroleum industry, as well as a multivision theatre.

Written by  Donna Dawson.

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