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.