being a beach butterfly

National Museum of Singapore

Mitch and I enjoy going to museums so it’s peculiar that we haven’t visited the National Museum  of Singapore. We remedied that this weekend but ended up getting a bit lost around Fort Canning Park. Then we saw this escalator on the hill and knew we found it, specially when we saw these guys hanging outside:

Check the National Museum of Singapore website before visiting because they have weekends when admission is completely free! We went on one such weekend and got to wander around without having to pay a single cent!

Our first stop was the exhibit Pompeii: Life in a Roman Town 79CE. Mitch worked on this exhibit back in Melbourne and even helped out in the exhibit here by troubleshooting a problem they had with their 3D theatre. We didn’t stay long as we already saw it in Melbourne so we just noted the difference in how they displayed theirs. Have a look around if you have the time! The story of Pompeii is one compelling and scary piece of history which reminds us just how little control we have on our mortality. Here’s some of the casts of the victims of the disaster. They were buried and molded into the positions they were in at the time of their death. You could just imagine the confusion, fear and despair while they were being buried alive by volcanic ash.

When we left the Pompeii exhibit we proceeded to the Singapore History Gallery. Such a great resource for an awesome whirlwind lesson to Singapore’s history!

We loved “The Companion”! The Singapore History Gallery website explains what this brilliant device is:

The Companion
The Companion is a multimedia handheld device specially designed to guide you around the Singapore History Gallery. Each Companion comprise of an LCD display, a pair of earphones and a keypad which enables you to enjoy audio, visual and textual content which complement the National Museum’s physical collection of artefacts. You can read descriptions, listen to expert opinions and dramatised scenarios, as well as watch videos related to these artefacts by simply punching in the zone code you are in (located on the floor), followed by the numbers next to the artefacts. This element of interactivity allows you to decide how you want to explore the Gallery and which stories you want to hear. The Companion is designed for anyone aged 7 and above. Available in English, Mandarin, Malay and Japanese language.

So once you get used to your companion you are free to roam around this gallery which has all sorts of artefacts, reading material, videos & photos from Singapore’s history from 14th century to the modern period at your own pace. You can choose the perspective by which you want to learn about Singapore. You can either go the Personal Path or the Events Path

We chose the Personal Path and learnt about history through the eyes of normal everyday Singaporeans.

It’s a huge gallery, packed to the rafters with interesting stories and cultural and historical lessons. You’ll need a whole afternoon to get through it all. Don’t forget to take your time, sit down as you let “the companion” take you back in time.

By the time you emerge, I assure you, you’ll be knackered. So go find a sunny spot where you can chug on some beer after soaking up some culture.

Mitch @ KPO gagging for a pint