KUCHING: The Borneo Cultures Museum is the city’s latest landmark, and set to become one of the major attractions for tourists and locals alike.
The museum — the biggest in Malaysia and second biggest in Southeast Asia — will open its doors next Friday (March 4).
Operation hours are from 9am to 4.45pm on weekdays and 9.30am to 4.30pm on weekends and public holidays.
Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah disclosed that there would be no entry fee for the first three months.
“However, we will seek the Cabinet’s approval on how much to charge for the entry fee or whether we should extend the free period to another three months.
“In the meantime, we set it for three months,” he said during a press conference at Lobby Level 1 of the museum on Tuesday (Feb 22).
The five-storey building consists of permanent exhibitions, children’s gallery, temporary exhibition, function room, VIP room, auditorium, restaurant, canteen and a souvenir shop as well as an Arts and Crafts Gallery, which includes special activity labs and a dance studio.
Abdul Karim stated that the exhibition strategy was to divide the permanent exhibitions into different levels with unique themes and storylines.
“Each floor has its own theme – Level 3 is ‘In Harmony With Nature’ while Level 4 is ‘Time Changes’ which tells the history of Sarawak and Borneo from the prehistoric times to the 1970s.
“For Level 5, the theme is ‘Objects of Desire’ whereas Level 2 is a separate exhibition with the theme ‘Love Our Rivers’ which is where the children’s gallery would be.”
He also disclosed that the museum, costing RM308mil, offered immersive and interactive experiences for the visitors with guides who would bring visitors around as well as providing explanation on the exhibitions.
When asked if the new museum would offer virtual tours for international visitors, Abdul Karim noted that it was something that would be looked into.
“Perhaps teasers, not the full tour and in fact the museum is already releasing teasers. If there is a full virtual tour, the visitors might not want to come down to Kuching and this will not help our tourism industry.”
