Perak Museum

Perak Museum in Taiping, Larut, Matang dan Selama, Perak is the oldest museum in Malaysia, established in 1883. Located on Jalan Taming Sari near Taiping Lake Gardens, it is housed in a distinctive Moorish-style building. The museum is notable for its extensive natural history, ethnology and archaeology collections documenting Perak's biodiversity and cultural heritage, and for its role as the first museum founded in the country.

Visitors can expect a historic Moorish-influenced building complex with four main galleries. Galleries display zoological specimens, geological and botanical collections, archaeological finds, and ethnographic artefacts including Orang Asli tools, weapons and traditional crafts. The grounds include outdoor exhibits and heritage structures. The setting is central Taiping, surrounded by colonial-era buildings and close to Taiping Lake Gardens, with indoor air-conditioned exhibition halls to explore at a leisurely pace.

Established in 1883 on the initiative of Sir Hugh Low, the British Resident of Perak, the Perak Museum is the oldest museum in Malaysia. Initially created to showcase natural history and ethnological specimens collected in Perak, it was built in stages with Moorish-style architecture. It has served as a centre for research and preservation of the state's natural and cultural heritage for over 140 years.

The museum preserves and presents the cultural heritage of Perak, including Malay traditions and the heritage of Orang Asli communities, through ethnographic artefacts, traditional weapons, tools, and crafts. It serves as an important educational and cultural institution for understanding the region's biodiversity and multicultural history.