For the June holidays, children can explore the National Museum of Singapore using the museum’s first interactive guide for families.
Titled Get Curious!, the guide was launched last Saturday, in conjunction with the museum’s month-long Children’s Special.
It was co-developed over six months with early childhood educators from NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool, with children aged five to eight in mind.
Ms Chua Jia Lin, the museum’s senior manager (curatorial and programmes), says: “It’s about how we can see the museum as a shared space, where families can come and be empowered to have self-guided visits here with the help of this book.”
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BOOK IT / CHILDREN’S SPECIAL AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM: GET CURIOUS!
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WHERE: National Museum of Singapore, 93 Stamford Road
WHEN: Till June 30, 10am to 7pm
ADMISSION: Free
INFO: Go to . The Get Curious! guide is on sale at the museum at an introductory price of $18 this month. It will retail at $24.90 in major bookstores and the Museum Label Shop from next month.
Featuring activities centred on more than 40 artefacts displayed across four galleries, the guide uses child-friendly themes such as shapes, colours and animals to spark the interest of young visitors.
For instance, a page dedicated to an older edition of Singapore’s national service uniform features a lift-the-flap section, in which kids can use a pair of red-tinted glasses to spot a camouflaged cartoon soldier.
On another page, children can read a short rhyme about a bicycle displayed in the museum’s Growing Up Gallery and guess which famous Singaporean figure it belonged to.
Meanwhile, the Children’s Special also features four installations, which young ones can have fun engaging with.
At the Forest Playground, children can jump on three large bouncy castles shaped like birds from the Malayan rainforest.
The installation is based on the William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings, featured in the museum’s Goh Seng Choo Gallery.
Visitors can also try their hand at piecing together a large jigsaw-puzzle replica of artist Percy Carpenter’s 1856 artwork, View Of Singapore From Mount Wallich, then take a look at the real painting in the Singapore History Gallery.
Ms Chua says: “We want children and families to have a fun and memorable time here because if they have a positive experience, it will make them want to come back for more.”
