International Museum Day Open House Specials
History Alive!
An Interactive Guided Tour for Children aged 5 to 9 years
Sunday 18 May 2008
2pm – 3pm & 4pm – 5pm
Meeting Point: Canning Visitor Services Counter, Level 2
$10

Your children's visit to the Museum will never be boring again! The National Museum's new interactive tour for 5 to 9 year olds - History Alive! is a walk through Singapore's history. Your children will be delighted by the interesting characters from the past whom they will meet in the gallery. Hurry and beat the crowd - register your child early, as limited spaces are available!


My Story
Jointly organised by Handsonlearning & National Museum of Singapore
Sunday 18 May 2008
1.30pm – 4.30pm
Seminar Rooms 1 & 2, Level 2
Admission: $40 per participant (Includes all workshop materials and tea break)
Minimum of 5 and maximum of 10 per session

*Parents and guardians who wish to participate in the recitation must come 10 minutes before the end of the workshop.

What was life like during the 1960s? How did Singaporeans live and what food did we eat during those days? Let your child “experience” a slice of Singapore’s past in this delightful half-day workshop of discovery and fun through story writing. Facilitated by an experienced developmental specialist, workshop participants will be led on a tour of the popular Food Gallery at the National Museum, where artefacts and objects become sources of inspiration and information for their stories. Parents are invited to attend the highlight of the programme where the participants will recite their written stories at the end of the workshop. This will truly be a wonderful learning experience for both you and your child, not to be missed!

Workshop enquiries:

HandsonLearning at Tel: 64020593 or visit www.handsonlearning.com.sg

About the Facilitator
Ms Angeline Tong is a specialist in developing experiential learning programmes for schools and other educational institutions in both Singapore and the US. She has extensive experience working with children to develop their critical and creative-thinking skills. Angeline holds a Masters of Education and a Post-Graduate Degree in Museum Education from Harvard University. She is currently working with the National Museum of Singapore and other major public institutions on their education initiatives.

Exhibition
Indian Communities in Singapore
Presented by the National Museum of Singapore
Monday 9 Jun – Sunday 27 July
10am – 8pm, daily
The Balcony, Level 2
Free admission

This exhibition introduces several Indian communities living in Singapore. Obviously, the generic term ‘Indian’ does not fully reflect either the political realities or the self identities of the communities in present day Singapore. However, it is very much a convention in Singapore to apply the term broadly to all immigrant communities from the Subcontinent. With this spirit in mind, the exhibition accommodates the historical past as well as the present and the term ‘Indian’ becomes all the more appropriate. Language is used as an organizing principle to group the communities along linguistic lines. Accordingly, several Indian scripts will be introduced. A selection of images showing some typical customs and practices of the communities will also be on view. The rich archival images from the National Museum’s collections, on view, will further situate these living communities appropriately in the historical context.

Matthew Ngui Retrospective
Presented by the National Museum of Singapore
Wednesday 28 May – Sunday 29 June
10am – 6pm, daily
Exhibition Gallery 2, Basement
Free admission

One of Singapore's most internationally recognised artists, Matthew Ngui creates playful, interactive environments that toy with the visitor's perceptions and perspectives, questioning the validity of fixed or singular meanings and truths. His use of anamorphosis ( a fragmented image which comes together only at a single point) serves to highlight these shifts. This major solo exhibition will draw together works from the past two decades of Ngui's practice including key installations, sculptures and video works, alongside new works specifically made for this exhibition.

Matthew Ngui has exhibited widely in Singapore and internationally, including representing Singapore at the Sao Paulo Biennial (1996) and the Venice Biennale (2001). He also showed at Documenta X (1997), Gwangju Biennale (2002), Thermoclines of Art: New Asian Waves (2007) and was featured in the landmark exhibition Cities on the Move (1997-1999) which toured Europe, the United States and Asia. In Singapore, he has created The Building Remembers/Remembering the Building (2006), one of the most sophisticated permanent public art works commissioned locally, for the National Museum of Singapore. Ngui is one of the curators for the 2nd Singapore Biennale 2008.