It's been a long time coming, but Singapore's very first museum dedicated wholly to children is finally opening on December 10. Children's Museum Singapore (CMSG) takes over the former Singapore Philatelic Museum building, transforming two floors of galleries into interactive and educational play areas designed especially for children aged 12 and below.
Created with the input of curators, educators, and kids themselves, CMSG is all about vivid storytelling and hands-on exploration. The overarching theme of the museum is one of 'travel' – through time and into Singapore's history.
Kids will be accompanied by CMSG's mascot WonderBot and trusty virtual companion Captain through four permanent galleries on the first floor: Hidden Chamber, Ahoy Singapore!, The Marketplace and My Neighbourhood. Kids can look at National Collection artefacts up close, learn about the Singapore River and its ties to trade, explore old shophouses and trades, and explore a modern neighbourhood post office.
Everything here is designed with kids in mind. Informational museum labels are placed low at children's eye level, and unnecessary protective casings are removed to encourage hands-on learning. At Ahoy Singapore!, kids can learn how to tie sailing knots and catch fish in an effort to join the Captain's crew. They can smell all the different traded spices, or experience the hard work of pumping water at The Marketplace. At My Neighbourhood, young ones can gather around to create their own stamps, send messages, and open letterboxes to learn more about the service workers that keep neighbourhoods going.
Upstairs, CMSG has three special exhibitions that will be refreshed every year. Currently, they are Imagine A Garden, an enchanting and immersive maze filled with paper sculptures of native birds and flowers by Colombian artist Diana Beltrán Herrera; Happy Birthday, a colourful gallery that explores cultural birthday rituals in Singapore; and Play Pod, a space meant for toddlers aged two to four to play and learn about fruits and vegetables in a safe setting.
To mark its opening, CMSG is throwing an Opening Week Birthday Bash on December 10 and 11, where you and your kids will get to be the first to visit its galleries and enjoy dance, theatre and music performances. Tickets for the birthday bash are free for children aged 12 and below, and $10 for accompanying adults. Pre-book tickets at go.gov.sg/csmg.
Subsequently, entry to CMSG is free from December 13 2022 to March 31 2023.