National Museum of Singapore Tour

National Museum of Singapore

MEDIA INVITE

We visited the National Museum last Saturday for the Island Adventures event. After the event, the organisers have kindly provided us tickets to visit the main museum.


The last time we visited a Musuem was at Singapore Philatelic Museum

We would like to give a quick review on what we had experienced.

Through the years

The NSM was opened in 1887.

It was restored and reopen twice in 1990 and 2006.

It is the custodian of 11 National Treasures and its Singapore history and Living galleries adopt cutting-edge and multi-perspective ways to present history and culture.

The experience here is unlike the museum experience aboard. The focus is on Singapore relatively young history. The content may not be extensive compared to London Museum , but it does give more than a glimpse and our nation’s past 

What's up there ?

Beautiful Dome

Our first stop is the Singapore History Gallery.



Entrance to the History Gallery

The Singapore History Gallery adopts a story-telling approach of Singapore ’s past. This exhibit is housed in a 2800 square meter space.


We entered the Museum through a Cerebo-like installation. It was awe at first sight as we thought we had landed in an Xmen movie.

The Cerebo?



The original Cerebo from xmen

Professor X was not on hand to guide us, but we have an audio handheld device (for age 7 and up) to guide us instead.

As we had 2 young eager toddlers who zoomspast each exhibits, we did not have the luxury to listen to the full audio guide. Nevertheless the snippets we had listened to was informative and educational.



A must have- the audio guide



Singapura

It starts with the founder of Singapore Sir Stamford Raffles and early 19th century Singapura.

The exhibits were of a mix of major events as well as personal stories

There are 2 different approaches you can take. You can choose the events path or the personal path.

We were not quite prepared on the options (yes we did not do any homework as we did not think we would visit the gallery), so we just stumbled along the exhibits

Luckily, there were Stickers on the floor (not by the infamous sticker-lady) that assist us in choosing the right audio feed for the segments we visit.


Stickers on the Floor

Next up are the war years, there are some exhibits from the World War 2 era.

  

The War Years



Post War

We are transported to the phase where a nation take shape. There we see how an infant nation grow into where we are today.



New Nation



Major events reported

There are not many artefacts in the exhibits. For ancient history buffs, they may be disappointed. We spotted these ‘ancient’ TV sets and fans along the way

The founder of modern Singapore and selected 'artefacts'

The whole tour takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to complete. After going through the gallery, it makes us feel proud to be Singaporean. We look forward to the National Day in August. Unfortunately we did not get the allocation for the ceremony (Does the organisers need a guest blogger?)



Majulah Singapura!

There were other permanent exhibits on the 2^nd Floor. We have missed the Singapore Living galleries as we are not aware of it. Perhaps signage could have been better in the museum. With the other exhibits, the tour may take a little longer. The exhibits we missed include films and wayang, photography, food and fashion.

There are 2 special exhibits that were at the museum. They are located at the basement level.

Down the Basement for more!

Gold Rush: Treasures of Ukraine

29th May - 26 August ($11 inclusive of entry to the Singapore history and living galleries)

This exhibit is on loan from the National museum of Ukraine . It shows a collection of 260 pieces of jewellery, weapons, coins, household and religious artefacts, dating from the 8th century to 19 century. There is also a showcase of gold from Southeast Asia and Singapore . We complete this part of the tour in less than 15 minutes.

Gold Rush - Treasure of Ukraine



The Displays

In the mood for Cheongsam :Modernity and Singapore woman

28th March - 27th June (Free Admission)

 There is another special exhibit that presents the changing roles of Singapore women through the eyes of the Cheongsam.

On display were various designs of Cheongsam popular at different periods of the century.

These Cheongsams were once belonged to the wives of Singapore political leaders of yesteryears. They include Mrs Benjamin Sheares, Mrs Wee Kim Wee and the late Mrs Lee KuanYew.

If you need an idea for next year Chinese New Year outfit, this may be a good place to explore!

In the mood for Cheongsam



Cheongsam gallery



Past and Present

There is an interesting section for kids located outside the exhibits. They allow the kids to create their own Cheongsam patterns as well as dressing up a mannequin. Charles decided to have a stab at making an image of Mummy using the mannequin.



Cheongsam activities

The galleries should appeal to older kids. The Wacky Duo were a little young to understand the exhibits, but nevertheless they had fun exploring the sights and sounds of NSM with us. We recommend that you do the Island Adventures along with this tour if you have kids.



Thank you NSM for hosting us for today’s visit!

The Little Details

National Museum of Singapore

93 Stamford Road S178897

General Enquiries : +65 63323659

History and Living Galleries

Price

Adult : $10

Senior ( 60 year tourist and above) : $5

Family package ( 3 adults , 2 kids) : $30

Child( under 6),Students( with valid student pass), Full time NS men, Senior (Singaporean and PR above 60) are free

Opens Daily 10am to 6 pm

Disclaimer

This review is the result of an invitation from National Heritage Board. We received complimentary tickets for the museum exhibitions. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are of our own.