In 1965, activist-historians living in the state of Sabah contributed to the creation of a large museum, which became a real attraction and scientific center.

At first, the museum was located in a small building of a former shopping center. The original collection was based on materials collected by George Cathcart Woolley, a British colonial administrator who lived and worked in Kota Kinabalu until 1947. He was a well-known ethnographer, interested in culture and art. During his time in North Borneo, Woolley created an impressive collection of archeological artifacts, works of local artists and artisans, took a huge number of photographs. Besides, George Woolley regularly kept diaries, where he wrote down all the information about this or that exhibit that appeared in his collection. In his will, he wrote that all these treasures should become the property of the residents of the state. And now, almost 20 years after his death, a historical museum was opened in Kota Kinabalu.

As the museum's collection grew, new premises were needed for its display and storage. So, in 1981, the state administration allocated a huge amount of money to do almost incredible things: to build a new museum complex, one of the largest in the country.

Opened in 1984, the Sabah State Museum surprised the citizens with its scale: 17 hectares of land, decorated in the form of a small village of Malay tribes. Therefore, walking between the exhibition grounds, you can see what the houses of residents looked like before colonization, what their life was like, what crafts they used in their lives. The historical and ethnographic village combines the Sabah State Museum and the collection of George Woolley, demonstrating what the world was like in this place before the British came here.

Besides, the museum has a science center that studies the flora and fauna of the state, preserves and replenishes the existing collections. There are open lectures on the history of Kota Kinabalu and the entire country.