In Singapore city-state there are many museums and art galleries you can visit. Most of them were created not so long ago, but have already become very popular among visitors.
Check our full list of museums in Singapore every first time visitor should check: find the details about the places, their ticket prices and working hours.
National Museum of Singapore
The National Museum of Singapore is the oldest in the country. Its exhibits are housed in an old 19th century building topped with a domed rotunda. Historical relics, interesting ethnographic and zoological collections, archaeological finds are kept here.
One of the museum’s most valuable artifacts is a block of sandstone with an inscription in ancient Javanese, known as the Singapore Stone. Presumably, the inscription was carved in the X-XI centuries. The text of the monument has not yet been deciphered.
Madame Tussauds Singapore
Tussauds Museum is known for lifelike figures of celebrities made from wax. Walking along the halls you can find politicians, artists, athletes and other famous people. Guests are greeted by Madame Tussauds herself, a French artist who opened her first unusual exhibition in London 185 years ago.
Don’t forget to take photo with your idol. Some locations are equipped with interactive simulations. For example, near the figures of football players Beckham and Ronaldo, go out onto the sports pitch and try to score the winning goal into the virtual goal.
Museum of Art and Science
In 2011, the panorama of Singapore was replenished with another architectural landmark – the futuristic building of the ArtScience Museum. The 60-meter structure on the shore of the sea bay, reminiscent of an asymmetrical blossoming lotus bud, immediately became one of the country’s calling cards.
In terms of the complexity of the concept, the contents of the museum correspond to its bold architectural design.
With the help of creative installations and three-dimensional images, the creators of the exhibition set out to show the connection between the scientific approach and artistic thinking – the synthesis of human mind and technological abilities that leads to incredible discoveries.
In fact, Singapore itself is an excellent illustration of this scientific and artistic concept. If you have enough time you can enjoy 20 minutes walk and spend a great time on Singapore Flyer.
Museum of optical illusions
Another stunning tourist attraction opened in Singapore in 2014. The Museum of Optical Illusions is located near the entrance to Universal Studios amusement park on Sentosa island. You can find there about a hundred multimedia installations, stuffed with modern optical and computer technological innovations.
Here you will become the characters of famous paintings and sculptural compositions, embrace the heroes of fairy tales, soar on the wings of an angel, turn into a giant, wander on the Moon. All adventures in the Museum of Illusions can be captured in a photo.
Oriental-themed museums
In multicultural Singapore, there are museums of arts of the peoples of Malaysia, India and China; the large Museum of Asian Civilizations is worthy of attention.
In the National Gallery and the Art Museum, you can find paintings by contemporary masters from Southeast Asian countries. There is a domed cinema and an exotic town for residents of equatorial latitudes – Snow City, so if you want to enjoy the winter while staying in Singapore, make sure to visit this place.
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum
It is the world’s first museum dedicated to the natural history of Southeast Asia. This is a huge exhibition gallery, which occupies two floors with an area of 2500 square meters. The 15 thematic zones feature plants and animals unique to the Southeast Asian region. The exposition consists of two thousand copies. Three dinosaur fossils, which are more than 150 million years old, are considered the jewel of the museum.
The museum can book group and individual excursions.
Museum of Asian Civilizations
This is one of the most famous museums in Singapore. It is worth visiting for those who want to get to know more about Pan-Asian culture and art. The museum is located in Empress Place and occupies three floors. More than a thousand exhibits are housed in eleven exhibition halls.
It is the only museum in the region fully dedicated to Asia. It contains many relics of the cultures of Southeast Asia, South Asia, China and Western Asia, some of which are more than 5000 years old.
National Art Gallery of Singapore
This museum houses the world’s largest public collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art. In total, the gallery contains more than 10 thousand works by various authors: from ancient artists to modern creators.
The gallery is located in the historical center of the city in the Civil District. The museum is housed in a beautiful building that once housed the City Hall and the National Supreme Court.
Changi Chapel and Museum
A truly unique museum in Singapore, which is still functioning as a prison. Museum expositions show how prisoners lived during the Japanese occupation in World War II.
Next to the museum there is a chapel – an exact copy of the one that was built by prisoners. There is also a memorial with the names of people died during captivity.
Once you’re done with museum exploration, you can enjoy national Singaporean cuisine at the Tastes of Singapore restaurant. The menu features authentic local specialties such as Nyonya lobster laksa, tandoori chicken and giant satay platter.
Malay Heritage Center
Located in Kampong Glam, this heritage center is dedicated to Malay Singaporeans. As in many rural areas in the southeast, Malays in Singapore lived in traditional wooden huts on stilts (or “kampong” in Malay) for decades until the 1980s, when the government moved most Singaporeans into apartments. After that, the kampongs practically ceased to exist.
This exhibition brings people back to a period when stilt huts were common. Here you can see the life and culture of the Malays: not only their traditional residences in kampong, but also art or handicrafts.
Peranakan Museum (Descendants of Chinese émigrés)
The museum explores the unique Peranakan culture that is still part of Singapore’s living heritage. In ten galleries halls you will see more than 1200 exhibits, including traditional Chinese products made of gold, silver, porcelain, textiles, as well as household products and objects of culture and religion.
The museum displays the culture not only of expatriates in Singapore, but also the Peranakan communities in neighboring Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia. The museum building is small, but it houses one of the finest collections of Peranakan artifacts in the world.
Red Dot Design Museum
For something modern and different, head to the Design Museum Red Dot Design Museum. The exposition of the museum will make you look at familiar things from a different perspective. The museum tells about innovations that are introduced into our lives every day, about gadgets and unusual inventions. Everything is presented here: from advertising posters, packaging, computers to household appliances.
Singapore Navy Museum
The exhibition tells the story of the country’s navy, from the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in the Straits in the 19th century to the Republic of Singapore Navy today. Also on display are antique naval equipment, historical photographs and parts of the high-tech rocket corvettes of the modern navy.
Do not forget to take your passport with you, you cannot enter without it.
