Durham University Oriental Museum

About

Explore Ancient Egypt and Western Asia, the Himalayas, China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia all in one museum. 

The Oriental Museum is devoted to the art and archaeology of the great cultures of North Africa and Asia. Objects on display range in date from prehistoric to contemporary art works. Visitors can see ancient Egyptian mummies, Chinese porcelain created for the imperial court, Japanese woodblock prints and head-hunting swords from Borneo.

The museum is laid out geographically so you can focus on one area or range across whole continents. Activities for families spread throughout the museum including dressing up, colouring, games and puzzles. We also have regularly changing themed trails around the museum aimed at different age groups from Under 5s to adults. The galleries have plenty of seating areas and the museum is fully accessible. 

In addition to our permanent galleries the museum hosts a regularly changing programme of special exhibitions related to the collections together with talks, art workshops and special evening events. 

Check out The Oriental Museum website to find out more.

Group Visits

We are very happy to welcome group visits to the Oriental Museum. 

Museum staff can offer a range of gallery talks and tours for pre-booked groups, subject to staff availability. These can be presented by curators or members of the Learning Team, depending on the age and interest of the group. In order to ensure that everyone in the group can hear and see, we recommend a maximum group size of 20-30 for a single tour. For larger groups, please contact us to discuss your booking. 

For specialist interest groups, it may also be possible to arrange handling sessions if enough notice is given. Please contact us as far in advance as possible if you are interested in seeing material that is not on display. 

Please note, we only have a small café area that seats a maximum of 16 people on a variety of seating. If you are coming with a larger group, we can arrange additional space for tea and coffee or lunch at an additional charge – please advise if this is required when you book. 

To make an enquiry please email oriental.museum@durham.ac.uk.