Durham University Oriental Museum - Closed until early 2021

About

**To ensure the safety and well-being of staff and visitors, Durham University’s museums, galleries and Botanic Garden will remain closed until early 2021.  We will be using the closed period to carry out improvements at all our sites.  At the Oriental Museum this will include:  

Completing the new Silk Roads permanent gallery, which will provide an updated introduction to the museum and its collection 

Installing the special exhibition, Lu Xun’s Legacy in Print Making in Modern China, celebrating the impact of Lu Xun (1881-1936) arguably the most important cultural figure of twentieth century China.**  

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.