Sarawak Natural History Museum
Kuching, Sarawak

exterior of Natural History Museum

Sarawak Natural History Museum (Muzium Sejarah Semulajadi) is an old-style museum with glass display cabinets filled with stuffed mammals, reptiles, birds, insects and shells. As part of the Sarawak Museum, it is one of the oldest museums in South East Asia having been established during the rule of Rajah Charles Brooke (1868-1917) although Sarawak's interest in natural history goes back even earlier to the time of his uncle, Rajah James Brooke. Famous British naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace spent 15 months in Sarawak from November 1854 to January 1856 at the invitation of James Brooke and he collected a vast collection of insects and other creatures at places such as Peninjau and Simunjan. You can read more about his trip on my blog.

The museum building dates back to 1908 and over the years has been used as a ladies' club and a government administrative office before becoming a museum. It is a large building but only half of the ground floor is open to the public.

a skeleton of a giant snake attached to the wall

A snake skeleton is displayed on the wall above the entrance. The museum states that the reticulate python is the longest snake in the world and probably grows to over 9 metres in length although, if left alone, is most unlikely to attack man. Other snake models include a mangrove cat snake, whip snake, mock viper, Malayan brown snake, eight lined kukri snake and a Bornean short-tailed python.

stuffed hornbill

This display includes a stuffed wreathed hornbill, a banded linsang and a binturong.

Another display of stuffed birds explains how Iban gods are believed to possess the mystical power to change themselves into birds such as a Brahminy Kite.

A poster in the museum lists over 40 totally protected wildlife species in Sarawak including orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, langurs, hornbills, rhinoceros (are there any left in the wild in Sarawak?) turtles, terrapins, clouded leopard, tarsiers, whales, dolphins and porpoises. Hunting, killing, keeping, selling or eating any of these protected species could result in a fine of RM50,000 and 5 years in jail. Perhaps destroying their natural habitat should also be an offence if we really want to protect these creatures.

The rhinoceros subspecies Dicerohinus sumatrensis harrissoni was named after Tom Harrison, a British anthropologist and Sarawak Museum curator. Sadly it is thought extinct in the wild.

100 different fly species mounted and labelled

Keen entomologists have collected, classified and displayed a scary number of different fly species from Sarawak.

Another display cabinet exhibits 100 different mosquitoes of various genera, including Toxorhynchites or elephant mosquitoes which do not suck blood but instead feed on the larvae of other mosquitoes and are therefore beneficial to humans. So next time you squash a mozzie, make sure it's not an elephant variety first!

brooke birdwing butterfly hanging above museum entrancestatue

There is also a good collection of butterflies, mounted and framed. One of the most striking butterflies is the green and black Rajah Brooke birdwing which Wallace saw for the first time in Sarawak and he named it after James Brooke. A giant statue of this butterfly hangs above the front door of the museum.

giant crocodile skull

One of the museum's top exhibits is the skull of a saltwater crocodile, believed to have been a man-eater which was caught and killed.

In an effort to modernise the style of presentation there is a marine section with various stuffed fish, shells and turtles displayed on a mock beach next to an underwater scene painted on the wall. The largest known clam Tridacna gigas ever exhibited in Malaysia is on display with a length of about 80cm.

Review Verdict

display case with stuffed mammals

I'm not a big fan of stuffed animals but worth spending up to half an hour. It's free and air-conditioned.

Opening Hours & Admission Charges

Monday - Friday open from 9 am to 4:45 pm.
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays open from 10 am to 4 pm.

Closed on the first days of Chinese New Year and Eid al Fitr and also on Labour Day, Harvest Day, Merdeka Day, Birthday of TYT of Sarawak and Christmas Day.

Ticket Prices

Admission is free.

How To Get to Sarawak Natural History Museum

The exact location is marked on this map:

Address:

Natural History Museum
Taman Budaya, 93000 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Nearby

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