PETROLEUM MUSEUM



Sarawak is the richest state in Malaysia because of the timber, gas and petrol supply it is blessed with. At one time, Bau (a small town) even had gold! However, by joining Malaysia, the wealth will be divided among the states. Sabah and Sarawak are probably two of the richest states in the country combined with our natural minerals and tourist attractions but we ended up among the poorest and underdeveloped.

Anyway, because Sarawak is a petroleum state, we have this Petroleum Museum built in Miri, the oil city of the country. The museum is situated at the top of a hill overlooking the city. When I was in Miri in mid April, the museum had just opened to public. Within days however, there are reports of many items being spoilt by some reckless visitors. The Grand Old Lady you see above is the oldest and first of its kind in Miri.

The building itself uses very modern claddings of aluminium and alot of glass. Miri is already a very hot city because of fuel burning but they built this building with alot of glass.

There are many things on display from the process of mining petroleum to the finished products to some scientific stuffs.

The solar panel and the hyperbolic slot look like cool stuffs. They even use a car to simulate the conditions when a earthquake occurs as you adjust the intensity inside.

I love this laser sensitive to touch things. I remember when I was a kid, we used to have a crystal ball that did the same thing. Now, they come in cylinders.

The model was very well done. I went for a closer look and the workmanship was very neat and tidy.

They have this section where they show examples of all the end products from petroleum which we have in the market. We decided to take a shot at the reflections from the mirrors attached on the ceiling.

There are other things which are more for educational purposes. There was even a human internal body organs 3D jigsaw puzzle! I tried out these twisted metal stuffs where your aim is to separate them both out.

I went to try this device which is able to calculate the amount of charge your body has. I tried so hard and always have less charge than my girlfriend! She got like a full reading while I barely made it to the half!

There is a section to glorify the advancement of science of the Islamic religion. Malaysia is an Islamic country so it is a requirement I guess.

Overall, I think the museum is a good place for students to learn and understand more things related to petroleum. They really need people to monitor the things inside from getting more damage. The last shot was taken behind the museum overlooking Miri city.