How to stay safe while getting your culture on
After closing their doors during Singapore's 'circuit breaker' phase, Singapore's museums and galleries are finally open to visitors once again – subject to safe distancing measures. Besides, if you're trying to get away from crowds and bond with your loved ones while getting cultured, the museum is one of the best places to be. Not to mention that Singaporeans and PRs enjoy free entry to most museums in the city.
But what does it look like behind the doors of our cultural institutions? And how does a day at the museum look like during this new normal? The Time Out Singapore team heads down to the Asian Civilisations Museum and National Gallery Singapore to find out.
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The operating capacity of all museums has been reduced to 25 per cent to allow for safe distancing. Therefore, it is advisable for you to consider pre-purchasing or redeeming your tickets online, which guarantees your visit and helps shorten waiting times. To help you out, here's where you can get your tickets online:
ArtScience Museum
Asian Civilisations Museum
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
National Museum of Singapore
Before getting through the historical doors of the museums, you'll have to whip your phone out to scan the designated QR code for your SafeEntry pass. Head on to the temperature screening station at the dedicated entrances to take your temperature. Visitors with a temperature of 38-degree Celsius and above will not be allowed entry. Of course, if you're feeling unwell in the first place, you should practice social responsibility and stay home.
Unless you're eating or drinking at the museum's dining establishments, your mask will have to stay on in the museums. This applies to visitors and museum staff alike. All Front of House, security, cleaning and Gallery staff are required to wear masks, conduct regular temperature taking and put on an 'I'm Cool' sticker once they have taken their temperature and are cleared to continue working.
Looking for eco-friendly yet beautiful masks for your trip to the museum? Shop these local labels offering unique reusable masks.
Museum-goers are expected to keep a safe distance of 1 metre at all times and take turns to view the artefacts and captions. There'll be floor markers or barricade to help guide visitors to maintain a distance of 1 metre from one another.
Of course, you shouldn't be visiting in groups larger than five pax, in line with government regulations. For more on what you can or cannot do during Phase 2, read our handy guide here.
If you were hoping to join a guided tour of the exhibitions, you're out of luck. The museums are currently putting their public programmes and guided tours on hold until further notice.
At the National Gallery Singapore, interactive exhibitions and installations such as City Hall: If Walls Could Talk exhibition, Keppel Centre for Art Education and Social Table are also suspended temporarily. Additionally, all audio headsets inside the gallery spaces are removed for hygiene purposes – and visitors are encouraged to download the free Gallery Explorer app instead. This will grant them access to audio tours to complement their experience.
All museums have adopted SG Clean standards, which includes regular cleaning of common and high-touch surfaces such as handrails, display cases and lift buttons. But you'll still have to sanitise your hands frequently. Hand sanitiser dispensers are available at different points throughout the museum, so lather up after visiting each exhibit.
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