Well curated exhibit at this museum and only a short walk from the beautiful Botanical Gardens too. Booking a ticket online for the museum is easy and the staff are very friendly.

Had a brilliant time with the wife and kids . Both of my boys loved it aged 10 and 12 . We were in for 2 hours but to be honest we weren't reading much about the stuff but there is definitely plenty to look at . We needed to get tickets before going and we only did it 3 hours before we went and still plenty left

Excellent! Well displayed and very interesting collection fro various times and places, worth visiting!

Nice little place and very interesting. Free entry. I was worried the kids would get bored but there are kids areas on each floor for drawing and dressing up etc. They also gave the kids activity sheets to work through on each level. It means you're able to walk about and look at the displays while the kids are still visible but kept entertained. There is a special display about Hiroshima at the minute which is very emotive. The graphic parts are kept in a curtained off room so kids can't see it. There's a little cafe area with drinks and a gift shop. There are stairs to each level but there's also lift access. The car park is very small but I think there's also an overflow. Staff were lovely and friendly.

Durham's Oriental Museum is a fascinating place to delve into the cultural heritage of distant lands such as China, Korea and Japan. Artefacts from Ancient Egypt are also displayed. It's a great place to while away a rainy or cold day while viewing objects spanning centuries and, geographically, thousands of miles. It's worth being aware that parking directly outside of the museum is limited.

Absolutely amazing experience! Best museum in Durham. Can’t believe I just found this place(because it is quite remote). I love their collections of Chinese and Japanese ornaments and furnitures especially. They also have amazingly good postcards. Highly recommend it!

Superb museum, well worth a visit. Excellent collections of Oriental, Egyptian, Middle Eastern and Indian art and artefacts. They are the best and most representative collections of any UK museum except the British Museum, IMHO. The displays are well laid out, with just the right amount of information. There is comfortable seating, to rest or to contemplate your favourite piece. The staff are helpful and friendly. It's free to enter, too.

We had a great time celebrating New Lunar Year. Good range of activities for kids, little ones and older ones too. There is a lot of good range of exhibitions and a lovely little shop with some great goodies to take home. Will be back

Fantastic day out! My two boys loved the information areas and we like to explore history whilst making memories, which this was perfect for. The Egyptian room was fantastic as was the other areas within the museum. My youngest was given the chance to make a lattern to, which he enjoed. All staff were polite and welcoming. Highly recommend visiting.

No tickets. Friendly staff. Alot of things to see there. Alot of Egyptian history with a mummy too. Children's can also be entertained as there are activities for them. Also wheelchair friendly.

Fantastic museum with exciting asian and oriental collection.we all including kids loved it. They also have a little treasure hunt challenge for kids to keep them occupied and learn in that process. This museum is well kept and friendly staff too.

Enjoyed our visit to this small musuem. Made all the more memorable by a chance visit by students in wonderful national dress and hearing a folk story related to Halloween.👻

Very small museum but it's a comfortable experience. Staff were happy to talk to us about the theft at the museum a few years back.

One way of introducing this museum would be to describe it as being similar to the TARDIS: much bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside. After driving up to the front and having to park in another car park because there were several school minibuses occupying the larger parking spots, I approached the front door is expecting a small exhibition that could be easily navigated in 30 minutes. Several hours later, and I left despite wanting to stay longer. The scale and scope of the museum is extraordinary as it spans thousands of years and takes you from Egypt to India, China to Japan by way of Korea and the Himalayas. The sheer range of exhibits (along with accompanying information on laminated sheets) is impressive, but perfectly fits an establishment linked to a world renowned university. While much of the content would be of interest to scholars, it seems a great deal of time and attention has gone into making it as user friendly as possible so there you don't have to go far until you find something aimed at schoolchildren, whether it's clothes to try on, an outline of a kimono to colour in, or a 'glitter tube' to make the nature of time slightly more easier to understand. Following on from one type of inclusivity to another, the museum spanned several different floors and there is a reasonably large lift allowing wheelchair users to see every part of the museum; the doors are wide and the exhibits are spaced out so there is no problem to get around and worry about damaging some priceless artefact! All in all, it's a fascinating place which I'll visit again and the fact it's on the Durham University campus and quite close to the Botanical Gardens means a full day can be had in this part of the world, stopping for lunch at the gardens (there isn't any food here, though there is a decent gift shop) for a full cultural experience and spending time inside and in the fresh air! If that weren't enough, it's very reasonably priced so good for families, school parties or adults wishing to increase their knowledge of everywhere from the middle east to the Japanese archipelago.

Visited with our 3 year old granddaughter for Lunar New Year Lantern Festival. Had an amazing time taking part in craft activities, story telling, music and food tasting. Highlight for us was dragon dancing which was fantastic and allowed interaction for children to engage in a unique activity. Great atmosphere, very well organised, staff were so friendly and helpful too. Will definitely visit for other family events which are incredible value for money.

Lots to see! Worth a visit!

A lovely collection of artefacts. The information that you could read was very good.It was quite dark so you really couldn't read everything which was a shame because it really was very interesting. Some of the exhibits information was done by qr code, so if you didn't have access on your phone you missed out.

A fantastic free museum for all the family to visit. The staff were very friendly and welcoming although the parking is very limited. There's often free activities available for kids and adults to take part in between 1pm and 3pm. The Ancient Egyptian part of the museum is extremely interesting for all ages, it's amazing to see how well preserved a lot of the things are. The gift shop is also very reasonably priced as well as the drinks and confectionery. A great place to visit to kill a couple of hours!

This was my first visit with family to the museum excellent things to see the Egyptian part was worth visiting as we're other parts I liked the history of Egypt entry is free

Interesting and authentic place to visit, a lot of very old exhibits and modern exhibits with a twist that are based on history and culture. Opportunities to dress in the clothing of the exhibits and interactive activities too. Large print guide to the museum was available which I think was a very nice touch. Gift shop is lovely and very reasonably priced, also this place is FREE entry so a little donation in the box is well deserved

Great day out with the kids. We spent the whole day here partaking in activities and reading all the information on all the fantastic artifacts. Kids really enjoyed the playmobile toys and the colouring. Bring a sandwich!

Having finally got to the museum we were pleasantly surprised to find a great deal of history on display. Well worth a visit.

A small, but really interesting museum with good explanations of the background to the exhibits (often lacking in other museums of this type). An eclectic range of exhibits from Egyptian mummies to porcelain to Japanese plastic toys. Well worth an hour or two of your time. Oh, and did I mention that it's free?

Very poignant temp display of the impact of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The other floors of oriental artifacts are impressive and beautifully presented. A family friendly museum with free entry. Very knowledgeable and friendly staff. Really enjoyed our visit.

An interesting display of items from the Orient spanning hundreds of years. It's opens your eyes to the wealth of knowledge that in some cases are the foundation stones for things that are atill in use today. The staff were helpful and well informed. Although there are 3 levels it is very accessible for those who have limited mobility.

A wonderful (and free) museum with a broad collection ranging from ancient to modern across a significant geographical range. One of the finest such collections outside of London. Usually very quiet outside of school holidays.

Really good museum and it's free staff were very welcoming

What a great museum ! Nicely laid out over several floors ( mobility lift available ). Lots of gistory rare pieces on display,and great artworks from the far east. The gift shop and cafe that does light refreshments is great, well worth a visit....... and a return aswell !

Small specialist Museum on multiple floors but with lifts. Covers Asian artifacts, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian and Eyptian art plus many more. There are seating areas all over the museum. There is a floor guide. I thought the collection was well signposted internally. There is a small area for self service hot drinks and snacks such as chocolate bars. There is a small shop. The Museum can be tricky to find as it is on the University campus. Use Google maps or similar to locate. It has school facilities. There is some car parking and can be accessed by public transport.

The free to visit Oriental museum is a must for anyone searching for things to do in Durham. We spent 3 hours there browsing the fascinating displays of Egyptology, Chinese history, as well as wonderful Indian miniature paintings. Friendly helpful staff, small but superb refreshment area, sparkling clean toilets. Brilliant, 10/10

An excellent hour spent pottering round and looking at all the different exhibits. Lots of different periods of history to explore, and the ancient Egyptian area is perfe t for anyone with a child who is studying the Egyptians at school. Bonus is that it's free (but leave a donation to help support this super museum!!!)

Great collection covering a wide geographic area and time frame. You need to pre-book a time slot due to covid restrictions, and allow two plus hours to see everything.

Incredible collection to travel through time. Lots to keep you interested and great for kids too

A great museum with lots of interesting exhibits. A good mixture of culture and history and artefacts. Free entry although need to book via Eventbrite. Small carpark. Helpful staff.

A really exciting museum layered at different literal depths for different cultures The current Japanese woodblock print exhibition is thrilling but children will like the Mummies and the Chinese dragons.

Very interesting. Loads of exhibits and very clear information. Well worth a visit.

Easy to find carpark , booking system not user friendly. Good range on artefacts plus mummies.

What a wonderful collection of things from the east, and beautifully presented, with good information

Don’t answer the phone, can’t book through Eventbrite, poor information on website and was closed when I went.

A great place and really interesting. Loved seeing the mummy in thw egyptian part

Interesting displays. Read more with QR code(Not sure if worked for non Durham wifi). 3-4 floors. Small shop & drinks stand. Seats outside. Beautiful exhibits, can get round in 2 hours just. Go.

It's a small museum, good walk for some saturday, it takes less than 2 hours to visit.