Island Advantures at National Museum

not hann but hann's meimei, Jade, reporting...

Warning: super many photos in this post.

Sorry that the photos may not be very clear as I had changed the setting of the camera without Mummy's knowledge.

no prize for guessing where I am.

yes, we're at the National Museum of Singapore

fo Island Advantures!

part of Children's Season 2012. 

Mummy thought the admission "tickets" on our wrists are cool.

After a short briefing, we're off to our Island Advantures.

See that ship in the back ground?

There is an accompanying activity booklet (not sure if it comes with paid tickets or if you need to pay for it) but Mummy thinks that more can be done so watch out for her suggested activities/ points for discussion (probably for older kids like my korkor) in blue in this post.

1st stop: Ahoy! All onbard! Level 1, The Concourse

Hop on board a ship en route to the island named Singapura in the year 1820...

there are many things to explore onboard the ship

and while we were busy exploring,

a lady in strange costume and accent came onboard.

She introduced herself as Mrs Willian Farquhar.

She showed us many interesting objects from her suitcase and gave us a glimpse what people used in the 1820s.

Mummy thinks she's really into the character cos when a kid suggested that she use tissue when she sneezes, she asked, "what's tissue?"

I guess tissue paper were not invented or not popular back then.

after the lady left, we were ushered into the cabin.

there is an interactive wall activity in the cabin where you're supposed to match the ships from different parts of the world to their silhouettes.

Suggested activity: besdies matching the silhouettes, get the children to match the magnetic ships to the different parts of the world on the wall map and "sail" each one to Singapore. 

but before we even started on any activity in the cabin, a lady dashed in and caught our attention.

She had chains on her arms and told scary story of her being made prisoner by the captain.

I was scared and Mummy took me out of the dark cabin.

I walked thru' the narrow passage outside the cabin

back to the deck to check out the interactive exhibits onboard.

 

We're very happy that almost all the exhibits were displayed at children's height.

Very well-designed, NMS!

 

Remember to fill up the 1st page of the Activity Booklet. If you're followin the Roving Acts tour, you'll probably won't have time to fill up the booklet or check out all the exhibits, so do go back to the ship when the tour is over.  2nd stop: Port City Level 1, The Salon

 explore and discover what life was like on the island, Singapura in the 19th and 20th century.

korkor checking out freight containers.

each of the 3 containers has 3 holes designed for children with different height, Mmmy believed.

You can either see, heard, touch and make a guess what's in each container.

Mummy's suggestion for NSM: maybe a different sound/texture/sight for each hole?

while a roving character caught the attention of the crowd,

I went fishing.

Points for discussion: what do you think Singapore was before people from over all the world came to trade?

after awhile, An Indian merchant who wanted to sell his spices appeared.


while going to the merchant, the children saw the fishing station and stated to fish and THREW the fish at the merchant.
It was funny at first but the kids were attacking the poor man with their fish so he couldn't tell us his story.
Parents stood and laughed and did not stop their kids.
The actor was very professional and with the help of some NMS staff, managed to stop the children from throwing the fish and could finally carry on with the story.




I was not interested in spices nor stories
and went on to play masa masa.

After the tour with the Roving Characters is over,

Korkor went to write a chinese letter using a chinese brush and waxed paper.

point for discussion: why do you think the paper waxed?


and "build" a malay settlement.


here's your lunch, korkor. take a break.


I'll take over from you.

suggested point for discussion: stilt houses. why do these houses have long "legs"?



after building, we went to "sweat it out" being a coolie, moving sacks on board the ship.



see! I'm so strong I can carry two sacks at a time!

see those "holes" on the sail?  We've gotta mend them by putting the correct piece in the rght hole. It's like a giant puzzle! 

Mummy reckon this is the only exhibit in Island Advantures that the children can't reach but she thinks it's fine cos the sails have to be huge in proportion to the ship.  Points for discussion: what do you think sails are for?


korkor went fishing too! he brought back lotsa fish for me to cook!

3rd stop: Port City Level 1, The Garden (? or is it Salon Foyer? anyway, it's outside the souvinir shop)


After learning about life on Singapura and how the island developed over the years,  
it is time to build Singapore!
You can "build" on the wall too.
Point for discussion: why do you think tigers are used here? are there any wild tigers in Singapore?To NMS: It's a pity we don't know and couldn't find the names of the iconic buildings used in these two activities.
before you leave the museum, if you still have the energy and time,

 go to the Singapore History Galleryto learn more about the history of Singapore.Warning: it's a little bit dark for young children like me.  Island Adventuresis happening now til Sun 22 July 2012 at Concourse, The Salon & Garden, Level, National Museum of Singapore 10am - 6pm daily (last admission at 5pm) $5 Child/Adult  Pss... there's open house this weekendi.e. free admission!watch out for next post on details.