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Really one of the best museums in singapore due to the extensive research and collections for Singaporeans to connect with our short but rich history. Helps us understand lee kuan yew and the earlier years in Singapore.
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Date of experience: January 2021
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It's been almost two decades since I visited the National Museum. I usually enjoy visiting museums but have had this (unfair) perception that this museum's displays are dull. A recent visit helped to dispel that feeling and made me see it in a brand new light. Housed in a grand mansion of a building that dates back to the 1840s, it underwent a long period of renovation before reopening in 2006. Unsurprisingly, its main exhibit is the history of Singapore. Using a variety of media, from physical mock-ups to dioramas to multimedia, visitors get to trace the island from its first historical mention in the 14th century, through its founding as a trading port by the East India Company on the early 19th century, to becoming a Straits Settlement and British colony over the next hundred or so years. The story then moves towards the Japanese occupation during the second world war, independence from Britain, and finally to its development as a sovereign nation. I especially enjoyed the displays pertaining to the development of police force as well as the effects of opium smoking. All this took me slightly over two hours to get through at a fairly lesiurely pace. I also walked through a temporary visually-stunning digital exhibition titled Story of the Forest which made clever use of the building's rotunda. And December being Children's Month at the museum, loads of kids were in attendance, mainly to have their photos taken next to the numerous Doraemon displays.…
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Date of experience: December 2020
1 Helpful vote
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We spent 2 hours at the oldest museum in Singapore, the National Museum. The cost to enter was $15, which I felt was reasonable value for the amount of time we spent in there. We honestly could have spent more but we had other places to be. There was so much to learn about the history of Singapore. I particularly liked the mural that could be seen as you descended the staircase and the exhibits that showcased some of the vintage Asian fashion.…
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Date of experience: December 2019
1 Helpful vote
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we both like museums and this one was worth a visit. loads of information about the island pre and post independence
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Date of experience: March 2020
2 Helpful votes
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+1
If you wish to learn more about the history of Singapore, then this is a must visit place! Start with a visit at the Glass Rotunda at level 2, from there you will be connected to Singapore History Gallery. Do spent at least 3 hrs for a in-depth understanding of Singapore history from the 14th century to present day. …
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Date of experience: August 2020
1 Helpful vote
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