The Perak Museum (Muzium Perak) is located within a short distance from Taiping Lake Garden. It is at the junction of Jalan Taming Sari and Jalan Muzium, and faces the infamous Taiping Prison (Penjara Taiping).
Perak Museum is the very first museum in Malaysia. Constructed in phases between 1883 and 1900, the building combines Neoclassical and Victorian architectures with Moorish elements. The museum itself is divided into 4 galleries.
The Indigenous People Gallery features the daily life of Orang Asli, the natives of Peninsular Malaysia. A fine collection of artifacts like pottery, utensils and ceremonial masks depicts many aspects of their culture.
Meanwhile, the Natural History Gallery contains an extensive collection of zoological specimens such as animal skeletons. One of them is the Malayan Tiger (Panthera tigris).
An adjacent gallery houses temporary exhibits. During our visit, bees and honey are featured here. Like beehives, the wasp nests also have hexagonal cells.
In addition, there are several outdoor displays at Perak Museum. The train coach shown here formerly served the Perak State Railway.
Several classic cars are also displayed outside the museum’s main building. Notable ones are Rolls Royce Phantom VI (1972), Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III (1964) and Alvis TD21 Tourer (1960).
The Avon Sabre RMAF F-86 Jet is an Australian-made single seat fighter-bomber. Originally owned by the Australian military, the aircraft was donated to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) in 1969.
Admission to the Perak Museum is a token RM2.00 for Malaysian citizens. Entry is free for children below 12 years old. Depending on your pace and interest level, you may need 1 to 3 hours to explore the museum.
Address: Jalan Taming Sari, 34000 Taiping, Perak
Contact: 05-807-2057
Business hours: 9:00am-6:00pm