Monthly Archives: May 2015

Naked Museum Tour at National Gallery Singapore

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There’s so much going on in this SG50 year! Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum just opened its doors last month and National Gallery Singapore will be opening in October. We managed to win passes to their Naked Museum tour and got a sneak peek of the place.

I think it’s truly amazing how they have managed to bring the Supreme Court and City Hall buildings together in a cohesive way. It’s a beautiful place and I can’t wait to see it when the artwork goes up on the walls.

on the Naked Museum tour

on the Naked Museum tour

The Singapore Courtyard was created from the space that used to be the carpark of City Hall

The Singapore Courtyard was created from the space that used to be the carpark of City Hall

City Hall Chamber hosted many important events in Singapore's history: the formal surrender of the Japanese in 1945, the inauguration of Yusof Ishak as the first Head of State, and the swearing-in of Lee Kuan Yew as the first Prime Minister

City Hall Chamber hosted many important events in Singapore’s history

The rooftop of City Hall will be an F&B area and public viewing deck

the rooftop of City Hall will be an F&B area and public viewing deck

view of the outside

view of the outside

Corinthian pillar

Corinthian pillar

branches

branches at the linkway between City Hall and Supreme Court

Visitors can walk around the Rotunda Dome at the Supreme Court Terrace

visitors can walk around the Rotunda Dome at the Supreme Court Terrace

the rotunda dome

the rotunda dome

Part of the historical lobby of the Supreme Court. The husband has fond memories of this place.

Part of the historical lobby of the Supreme Court. The husband has fond memories of this place.

thinking about the last time he sat on this seat

thinking about the last time he sat on this seat

chocolate?

chocolate?

the base of the pillars

out on the balcony

Looking up at the Corinthian columns from the Supreme Court balcony

Looking up at the Corinthian columns from the Supreme Court balcony

one of the former court rooms

one of the former court rooms

outside the court rooms

outside the court rooms

the library

the library

steps down to the foundation stone

steps down to the foundation stone

there's a time capsule below that's supposed to be opened in the year 3000

there’s a time capsule below that’s supposed to be opened in the year 3000

they preserved two holding cells in the Supreme Court wing

they preserved two holding cells in the Supreme Court wing

save me!

save me!

he definitely looks guilty

he definitely looks guilty

The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name

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Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince William, has given birth and it’s a little PRINCESS! There’s a lot of speculation about what the name of Her Royal Highness the Princess of Cambridge is going to be, but whether it’s Charlotte, Alice, Elizabeth, or Alexandra, the princess will probably be able to buy a keychain with her name on it off the rack.

One of Anya’s major gripes is that she can never find her name on a ready-made keychain. I had the same problem until I visited Paris two years ago and discovered that my name was pretty common over there. So she was really excited when she got to the end of this book: The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name.

The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name

The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name

In the book, a little girl wakes up to find that she had lost her name. She sets off bravely on an exciting adventure and meets an Aardvark, a Narbalek (that’s a little rock-wallaby!), a Yeti, and an Angel. They each give her the first letter from their name, and in doing so, help her to find her lost name!

lovely illustrations

lovely illustrations

I adore the unconventional characters in the book and the beautiful illustrations. Anya loves that the book is written just for her! When she reached the end and discovered her name printed there, she looked up with such a bright smile on her face.

something interesting is happening

something interesting is happening

the girl found her name!

the girl found her name!

I can imagine that any child would be delighted to see his or her name on such a charming little book, but this book will be extra special for children with uncommon names or names in other languages. It’s perfect as a full-month, birthday or Christmas gift and you can even personalise the dedication on the first page of the book.

You can get a preview of what the book for a particular name will look like over at the Lost My Name website and choose if you want it gift-wrapped. Each book is S$39.99 and shipping is free to any part of the world. This is a book that the child would want to hang on to even when he or she grows up. I know a few adults who would be ecstatic to get the this as a present too!

Disclaimer: We received the book from Lost My Name for review purposes. All opinions are my own. 

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

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Lee Kong Chian Natural History Musem opened its doors to the public on Tuesday and I went to check it out without the kids in tow. The most important thing you need to know before making your way down is LKCNHM that you have to purchase your admission tickets through SISTIC (online or at SISTIC counters). They do not sell admission tickets at the venue.

So here are some things you can expect to see at LKCNHM. I didn’t really go into details about the displays because the whole point is to go to the museum and see them for yourself, right?

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

at the entrance

at the entrance

About 4 years back, we visited Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research that was located at the Science Faculty of NUS. That was a much tinier place compared to LKCNHM. The new museum is spacious and beautifully done up. The staggered admission timings also ensure that it doesn’t feel uncomfortably crowded. Many of the specimens from that museum can now be found at LKCNHM.

spacious

plenty of room to move around in

a slice of the Changi tree that was thought to be locally extinct

a slice of the Changi tree that was thought to be locally extinct

common trees in Singapore

common trees in Singapore

fungi

fungi

The ‘Towards Animals’ display is simply fascinating. Do you know what Venus’s Flower Basket and Lazarus Jewel Box are? What about a sea mouse? Do the Smiling Worm, Fireworm and Peanut Worm look like their names?

A tip for the ‘Towards Animals’ display: the details for the items on display are all on the left. Instead of moving back and forth to check the information whenever I saw something interesting, I took a photo of the information and magnified it on the display screen of my camera so that I could look at the display and the information at leisure.

I really liked this 'Towards Animals' section

I really liked this ‘Towards Animals’ section

frog

Malaysian Borneo Frog

huge spider crab

huge spider crab

see how big it is in relation to the two men??

see how big it is in relation to the two men??

something's bugging me about this place

something’s bugging me about this place

nature is amazing

nature is amazing

big fish!

big fish!

crocodile

crocodile

more frogs

more frogs

rainforest

rainforest

check out that big skull!

check out that big skull!

Man vs. Wild

Man vs. Wild

For most, the highlight of a visit to LKCNHM would be the dinosaurs. The three dinosaurs arrived in Singapore (in 53 crates!) between 2012 and 2013, and took two weeks of 12-hour days to assemble. There were more than 1 000 elements to the 150-million- year-old skeletons, with some bones weighing more than 200kg. Apollonia, Prince and Twinky are truly impressive and I’m so proud that we are able to see real dinosaur fossils in Singapore.

the dinosaurs

the dinosaurs

half-hourly light show

half-hourly light show

One of my favourite sections is the one on the geology of Singapore. This can be found on level 2. I think most of us living in Singapore don’t even know what is under our own feet so it was quite an eye-opener to see the type of rocks that can be found in each part of Singapore and be able to touch some of these rocks.

fascinated by this section on the geology of Singapore

fascinated by this section on the geology of Singapore

rock samples

rock samples

you can even see the plants outside

you can even see the plants outside

I remember that guy from RMBR

I remember that guy from RMBR

looking down at the skeletons

looking down at the skeletons

museum shop

museum shop

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
(next to University Cultural Centre)
Faculty of Science, NUS
2 Conservatory Drive
Singapore 117377
Tel: 6 601 3333
Opening hours: Tue to Sun and Public Holidays – 10 am to 7 pm
Admission fees: Adults – $15; Child/ Student/ NSF/ Senior Citizen/ Disabled – $8 (Local resident rate)

Read more about Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum over at Life’s Tiny Miracles!