Singapore Philatelic Museum review

Singapore Philatelic Museum

Dad : Do you want to see stamps? 
Boys : Er.....  
Dad : How about Stormtroopers? 
Boys : Yeah!



That is how we decided we will head to the Singapore Philatelic Museum for an impromptu excursion.

Guess who is at the SPM?

About Singapore Philatelic Museum (SPM) 

First thing first, what is the meaning of Philatelic?Philatelic means relating to Philately, which in turns means the study of stamps and postal history. That explains the red circular post box found near the entrance door.
Singapore Philatelic Museum is the custodian and curator of Singapore's treasure of philatelic materials. The museum collections range from stamps and archival philatelic material of Singapore from the 1830s to present day, and stamps from member countries of the Universal Postal Union. 
Source Singapore Philateluc Museum
 
The SPM opened on 19th August 1995 and is housed in a century old, double storey , colonial building which was a part of Anglo Chinese School. It in turn houses permanent galleries that showcase the world of philately and current exhibits that changes seasonally to give every visit a breath of fresh air.

Entrance

Permanent Galleries 
Orange Room and Purple Room

My first stamp

The first floor covers the history of philately. The collection are house in the Orange Room and the Purple Room. Within the rooms, there are plently of interactive exhibits that allow the children to discover the stories behind it. There are windows to be open, drawers to be pulled amongst the many hidden treasures.

Purple, Orange and Green

This is our second visit to the Singapore Philatelic Museum. We were here about 2 years back when they had the Ironman Exhibit. Check out how I had evolved throughout the years!

I have shrunk!

Don't miss the red post box donated by Hong Kong Post Office after the handover of HongKong to China in 1997. Each Post box weights 400 kg, so don't think you can actually move it anywhere without help.

Room of Rarities

Room of Rarities

Our next stop is the room of rarities on level 2. Here you can discover the gems of Singapore philately history. We were amazed with the evolution of Post Boxes from bright Yellow to the white and orange ones. A room full of philately treasues waiting to be discovered!

Evolution of Post Boxes

Heritage Room

Heritage Room

Next we travel back in time to the heritage room. We were transported to a five foot way where we see a wall of red clogs that we reckon was the rage in footwear back in early Singapore.

1800s fashion footwear

The drums and the Tikam board were of particular interest to us. We had a roaring time playing the drums but unfortunately we can only admire the games held enclose in the tikam board.

The Heritage Room

Current Exhibitions 
Spice is Nice : Aug 2012- May 2013

Spice is Nice Exhibit

The walk to the past continue with a trip to the Spice is Nice exhibit. We learn how Spices had transformed this little fishing village to a bustling port of call due to its global position. I had a 'taste' of what chilli taste like and er... it's not exactly appetizing for me.

Spices

Snakes and Ladders : Feb to Sep 2013

Snake and Ladders

Our Favourite current exhibit will be the snake and ladders exhibit. Here we learn the facts and myths of snake. This exhibit is held with conjunction with the zodiac year of the snake.We love crawling through the snake belly located in the middle of the room.

Snake and Ladder

However it was the large Snake and Ladder board that intrigue us. Needless to say we decided to start a game of Snake and Ladders.

My Turn

Naturally we did not complete the game as we were distracted by the other exhibits on display.

Let's Play!

Others

Miniture post boxes

Singapore Post Box

We spotted an exhibit of miniture post box located at one corner. Can you spot Singapore's Post box?

Along the corridor is an exhibit showcasing what is probably an old living room in the 1950s.Wait, I think the phone is ringing.

Ring Ring

The Singapore Philatelic Museum is a colourful museum which we suspect had kids in mind when they plan it. With a corner themed as Fun Corner inviting kids to 'come play with us!', is indeed a welcoming sight for families with kids.

Fun Corner

To top off , since May 18th , 2013, 8 museums and heritage institutions in Singapore are open FREE to Singapore Citizens and PRs all year round. The SPM is one of them that opens the door to locals everyday.This will apply to all permanent exhibits and most special exhibits.The full List is as follows

National Museums

• Singapore Art Museum
• National Museum of Singapore
• Asian Civilisations Museum
• The Peranakan Museum
• Singapore Philatelic Museum
• National Art Gallery (slated to open in 2015)

Heritage Institutions

• Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
• Malay Heritage Centre
• Indian Heritage Centre (slated to open in 2015)

Interpretative Centre

1. Reflections at Bukit Chandu

I visited the museum for free.

In case you think we had miss the real motive for visiting SPM, we have not!We did meet up with the Troopers at SPM. Actually it is a Stromtrooper and a Tie Fighter Pilot.

Light Vs Dark Exhibition :March- 30 June 2013

Fans of Star Wars should check out our adventures with the Troopers on the Light vs Dark Exhibiton.This exhibit is also part of Children's Season 2013

We Love museums!