Oriental Museum
![Lunar New Year 2023 celebration at the Oriental Museum, showing red lanterns with gold tassels](https://pxl-duracuk.terminalfour.net/fit-in/1600x900/filters:format(webp)/prod01/channel_4/things-to-do/media/things-to-do/oriental-museum/88326.jpg)
Eternal Ascent: Bentley Beetham and the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition
An exhibition marking the centenary of the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition, the first Western, and ultimately tragic, attempt to climb the highest mountain in the world.
The story is told from the perspective of one man, Bentley Beetham, using pictures selected from his large collection of photographs and glass lantern slides taken during the course of the expedition.
Upcoming events
Little Dragons
Little Dragons
Twilight Opening at Oriental Museum
Relaxed Family Activities: Take your pencil for a walk
Toy Box: celebrating toys and games across cultures
A student-led, family-friendly summer exhibition showcasing toys from across Asia and Egypt to celebrate a simple fact of humanity: we all love to play.
Plan Your Visit
Find out everything you need to know to get the most from our visit: how to find us, opening times and more. Plus, everything you need to know if you or anyone in your group has any special needs or requirements.
‘The Orient’ is not an area with defined geographical boundaries. The term can mean widely differing things to different people. In the case of the Oriental Museum, the definition is a wide one indeed, with the collections covering a huge area from North Africa to South East Asia. This is the legacy of the origins of the Oriental Museum in the teaching of oriental languages at Durham University.
Our collections
Find out more about the history of the museum and our collections.
China
Egypt and Sudan
Japan
Search our collections
We welcome anyone who wishes to study our collections. Find out more about searching our collections online and how to make a research appointment.
Learning and Engagement
The Oriental Museum has a range of activities, workshops and events for schools, home learners, families, visitors and a range of groups.
This is a fabulous small specialist museum, containing exhibits from China, Japan, India and Egypt among others. It contains a fascinating range of artifacts, beautifully curated and accompanied by commentaries, videos, etc.. It is on four levels, but accessible to all. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable…. We spent a couple of hours, but could easily have stayed longer, as each exhibit is worthy of attention. One of our best experiences when visiting Durham.
International Partnerships
We support learning, teaching and research across the University and worldwide. Oriental Museum curators are currently working in partnership with museums across Asia on a range of collections research and exhibition projects.
Nearby attractions
Botanic Garden
Set amongst beautiful mature woodlands, the Botanic Garden offers a wide variety of landscapes to explore and discover.
![Four children jumping into the air and smiling, while at the Botanic Garden](https://pxl-duracuk.terminalfour.net/fit-in/800x450/filters:format(webp)/prod01/channel_4/things-to-do/media/things-to-do/botanic-garden/visit/Botanic-Garden-Jumping-Children.jpg)
Durham World Heritage Site Visitor Centre
Durham Castle
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