Museums

Kota has a large Sabah State Museum that depicts the history, evolution, culture, lifestyle and civilization of the state. Here is a guide to Kota Kinabalu’s lone museum.

Sabah State Museum

This is the single largest, most culturally significant, well-stocked and professionally-maintained museum in Kota. The Sabah State Museum is housed inside the old Palace Hill, adjacent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the heart of the town. The sprawling museum complex was created in 1985 with a botanical and zoological garden on the premises. The museum is also flanked by an interesting heritage village on one side.

This complete art, history and culture zone features an advanced Science and Technology Center, which conducts progressive research experiments. This is a nice place to wander through tables full of scientific apparatus and marvel over the technological brilliance of Kota Kinabalu.

There is also an art gallery in the museum vicinity that exhibits several paintings and sculptures belonging to different eras and genres of classic and modern art. The main building has a huge exhibition hall and six smaller galleries that display Borneo tribal artifacts, ritual objects and a few gory human skulls.

One of the exhibition centers traces the history and evolution of the region’s petroleum industry through photographs, audio visual screenings and objects. The museum complex also houses a multi vision theater, along with a restaurant and café.

The Sabah State Museum is a nice visit for its cultural exhibits and historical memoirs, and sketches several portraits of Sabah’s civilization and lifestyle.