National Museum of Singapore’s revamped Singapore History Gallery reopens on Oct 10

To mark the reopening of the Singapore History Gallery and the National Museum’s 139th anniversary, the museum will hold nine days of festivities from Oct 10 to 18, featuring installations, an art market, live performances, workshops and various activities.

The National Museum of Singapore will reopen its flagship Singapore History Gallery, which focuses on people-centred narratives and the development of the Singapore identity, on Oct 10, 2026. (Photo: National Museum of Singapore)

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History buffs will soon have a revamped space to explore more than 700 years of Singapore's past.

The National Museum of Singapore's flagship Singapore History Gallery will reopen on Oct 10 following its first full revamp since the gallery opened in 2006.

The gallery, which was previously refreshed in 2015, will trace Singapore's history from its place within the Malay World in the 14th century through British colonisation, the Japanese Occupation and independence to the present day.

New research, artefacts, personal accounts and interactive elements have been incorporated into the gallery, with greater attention paid to how Singapore's multicultural identity developed and how historical events connect with contemporary life.

The revamped Singapore History Gallery traces the development of the Singapore identity over 700 years. (Photo: National Museum of Singapore)

The post-war period has also been expanded, with sections covering the 1980s onwards featuring mostly new content on how more recent developments have shaped Singapore and its identity.

The changes follow consultations conducted by the museum in 2023 and 2024 with academics, consultants and members of the public. More than 160 people from different age groups and backgrounds participated in focus group discussions. According to the museum, themes of identity and multiculturalism resonated particularly strongly, while participants wanted greater historical context and stronger connections between the past and issues they encounter today.

The gallery will also explore what life was like during the colonial era under British rule. (Photo: National Museum of Singapore)

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE GALLERY

The visitor experience begins with Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time, the permanent multimedia experience that opened in 2025. It serves as an immersive introduction to Singapore's major historical milestones and myths before visitors continue into the Singapore History Gallery.

In the gallery, historical objects sit alongside personal accounts, multimedia displays, tactile elements and experiential installations. Among the more unusual objects is a restored HDB lift from the 1970s, used to explore Singapore's transition from kampung life to public housing – including how residents adapted to, or struggled with, that change.

Some highlights of the gallery include Zubir Said's piano. (Photo: National Museum of Singapore)

There's also a traditional Nanyang coffee roasting machine from Ho Tit Coffee Powder Factory, as well as a newly commissioned timelapse by photographer Keith Loutit capturing nearly 15 years of changes to Singapore's cityscape.

Other artefacts include the piano on which composer Zubir Said composed Majulah Singapura ; a Japanese propaganda map dating from 1939 to 1942; and t he first printed edition of Munshi Abdullah's major literary work Hikayat Abdullah.

The museum's wider overhaul isn't finished yet. The Singapore History Gallery's reopening follows the launch of Singapore Odyssea last year, while its Level 2 galleries are scheduled to reopen in early 2027, completing the phased revamp in time for the museum's 140th anniversary.

The gallery's interactive Hawker Centre Table explores different aspects of Singapore's hawker culture. (Photo: National Museum of Singapore)

CELEBRATION OF THE MUSEUM'S 139TH ANNIVERSARY

To celebrate both the gallery's return and the National Museum of Singapore's 139th anniversary, the museum will hold nine days of activities from Oct 10 to 18 under the title Stories of Everyday.

Visitors can expect special art installations, an art market, live performances, workshops and other activities centred on everyday experiences and memories of life in Singapore.

Stoney is the museum's new mascot, based on the Singapore Stone. (Photo: National Museum of Singapore)

The museum will also introduce a new mascot, with merchandise and meet-and-greet sessions planned during the celebrations. Named Stoney, the mascot takes inspiration from the Singapore Stone, a surviving fragment of a sandstone boulder that once stood at the mouth of the Singapore River. The boulder was blown up by the British in 1843, while the inscription on the surviving fragment remains undeciphered.

Stories of Everyday runs daily from 10am to 7pm from Oct 10 to 18, with last admission to the galleries at 6.30pm. Admission to the anniversary festivities is free, while admission to the Singapore History Gallery is free for all visitors from Oct 10 to 12. Singapore citizens and permanent residents continue to enjoy free general admission after that. More information is available on the museum's official website .

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为庆祝新加坡历史展厅重新开放和国家博物馆成立 139 周年，博物馆将于 10 月 10 日至 18 日举行为期九天的庆祝活动，包括装置艺术、艺术市集、现场表演、工作坊和各种活动。

新加坡国家博物馆将于2026年10月10日重新开放其旗舰展厅——新加坡历史展厅，该展厅以人为本，讲述新加坡的历史故事和新加坡身份认同的形成。（图片：新加坡国家博物馆）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

历史爱好者很快就能在一个焕然一新的空间里探索新加坡700多年的历史。

新加坡国家博物馆的旗舰展厅——新加坡历史展厅将于 10 月 10 日重新开放，这是自 2006 年展厅开放以来的首次全面翻新。

该展厅曾于 2015 年进行过翻新，将追溯新加坡的历史，从 14 世纪在马来世界中的地位，到英国殖民统治、日本占领和独立，直至今日。

新的研究成果、文物、个人叙述和互动元素被融入到展厅中，更加注重新加坡多元文化身份的发展以及历史事件与当代生活的联系。

重新装修后的新加坡历史展厅追溯了新加坡700多年来的身份认同发展历程。（图片：新加坡国家博物馆）

战后时期也得到了扩展，涵盖 20 世纪 80 年代至今的章节主要包含关于近期发展如何塑造新加坡及其身份的新内容。

这些调整是博物馆在2023年和2024年与学者、顾问和公众进行磋商后做出的。超过160名来自不同年龄段和背景的人士参与了焦点小组讨论。据博物馆称，身份认同和多元文化主义的主题引起了强烈的共鸣，参与者希望博物馆能够提供更丰富的历史背景，并加强过去与他们今天所面临的问题之间的联系。

展厅还将探索英国殖民统治时期人们的生活状况。（图片：新加坡国家博物馆）

画廊参观须知

游客的参观体验从新加坡奥德赛：穿越时空之旅开始，这是一个于 2025 年开放的永久性多媒体体验馆。它为游客提供了一个沉浸式的新加坡历史里程碑和神话介绍，之后游客将继续参观新加坡历史展厅。

展厅内，历史文物与个人叙述、多媒体展示、触觉元素和体验式装置并置展出。其中一件较为独特的展品是一部修复后的20世纪70年代组屋电梯，它被用来探讨新加坡从甘榜生活向公共住房的转变——包括居民如何适应或难以应对这种变化。

展厅的亮点之一是祖比尔·赛义德的钢琴。（图片：新加坡国家博物馆）

此外，还有一台来自何德咖啡粉厂的传统南洋咖啡烘焙机，以及摄影师 Keith Loutit 新近委托拍摄的延时摄影作品，记录了新加坡城市景观近 15 年的变化。

其他文物包括作曲家祖比尔·赛义德创作《前进吧，新加坡》时所用的钢琴；一幅 1939 年至 1942 年的日本宣传地图；以及穆恩希·阿卜杜拉的主要文学作品《阿卜杜拉传》的第一版印刷本。

博物馆的整体翻新工程尚未完成。新加坡历史展厅的重新开放是在去年新加坡奥德赛展览馆开幕之后进行的，而其二楼展厅计划于2027年初重新开放，届时分阶段的翻新工程将全部完成，以迎接博物馆成立140周年。

展厅内的互动式小贩中心餐桌探索了新加坡小贩文化的方方面面。（图片：新加坡国家博物馆）

庆祝博物馆成立139周年

为庆祝画廊回归和新加坡国家博物馆成立 139 周年，博物馆将于 10 月 10 日至 18 日举办为期九天的活动，主题为“日常生活中的故事”。

游客可以期待看到特别的艺术装置、艺术市集、现场表演、工作坊以及其他以新加坡日常生活体验和记忆为中心的活动。

Stoney是博物馆的新吉祥物，其原型是新加坡石。（图片：新加坡国家博物馆）

博物馆还将推出新的吉祥物，并在庆祝活动期间推出周边商品并举办见面会。这个名为“斯托尼”（Stoney）的吉祥物，其灵感来源于新加坡石。新加坡石是一块曾经矗立在新加坡河口的砂岩巨石残片。这块巨石于1843年被英国人炸毁，而残片上的铭文至今仍未被解读。

“日常故事”展览将于10月10日至18日每天上午10点至下午7点举行，展厅最后入场时间为下午6点30分。周年庆典活动免费入场，新加坡历史展厅也于10月10日至12日期间免费向所有游客开放。此后，新加坡公民和永久居民仍可继续享受免费入场。更多信息请访问博物馆官方网站。

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