Located 56 kilometres east of Udon Thani along Highway 22, the Ban Chiang National Museum displays the finds from one of the world's most important prehistoric sites — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992. The collection includes bronze tools, jewellery, and the distinctive swirling red-on-buff pottery that has become the symbol of Ban Chiang culture, with artefacts dated to around 3,600 BC. A short walk from the museum leads to Wat Pho Si Nai, where an active excavation pit has been preserved under a shelter so you can see the buried skeletons and pots exactly as archaeologists found them.
Open daily. Admission is 150 baht for foreigners. Songthaews run from Udon Thani's market area toward Ban Chiang village.