This December and January, National Heritage Board (NHB) will be running an array of programmes and events for you and your family!
So much is happening in the year end of 2023 and beginning of 2024 across the venues managed by the National Heritage Board! Here's a closer look at what you can expect in the months of December and January:
Speak Mandarin Campaign Family Talent Competition 2024 – Registration Opens
Date: 3 Jan to 29 Feb 2024
Jointly organised by the Promote Mandarin Council, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School (Primary), Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL) and PCF Sparkletots Preschool, the Speak Mandarin Campaign Family Talent Competition is a nationwide competition that provides immersive opportunities for children to learn Mandarin, and for families to bond and have fun concurrently.
More information will be released closer to the date.
Monumental Hunt in the Civic District
Photo Credit: PSM
Date: TBC
Time: 9.30am to 12pm
Fee: $55 per participant | Register here
Set off on a fun-filled puzzle hunt in the Civic District! Inspired by escape rooms and treasure hunts, participants go on an immersive outdoor expedition featuring nine National Monuments in the area. Facilitated and guided by a game master, get ready to put on your thinking caps to decode the puzzles and discover fascinating facts about these historic buildings and sites along the way!
Note: This Monumental Hunt will be recurring and takes place every 3rd Saturday of the month.
Programmes by the Indian Heritage Centre (IHC)
Katha & Kali - Interactive in special exhibition
Photo Credit: Indian Heritage Centre
Venue: Indian Heritage Centre
Date: now to 15 Sep 2024
Fee: Free
Step into the world of Kathakali at our digital interactive exhibition. Discover the different characters that are commonly found in a Kathakali performance; learn a mudra or hand gesture demonstrated by these characters; transform into your favourite Kathakali character; snap a picture of yourself and send the saved image to your email! Don’t forget to post your picture on your social media account and tag us @Indianheritage_sg!
For more information, please visit the IHC website.
Ente Veedu, My Home: Malayalees in Singapore
Venue: Indian Heritage Centre
Date: now to 15 Sep 2024
Time: 10am to 6pm
Fee: Free admission for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents
The Indian Heritage Centre’s sixth special exhibition and third community co-curated exhibition celebrates the Singapore Malayalee community. The tangible and intangible aspects of the rich history and heritage of the Malayalees will be showcased through a display of artefacts and stories, along with a variety of programmes offered in collaboration with the community.
For more information, please visit the IHC website.
Open House: Ente Veedu, My Home: Malayalees in Singapore
Photo Credit: Indian Heritage Centre
Venue: Indian Heritage Centre
Date: 2 & 3 Dec 2023
Time: 10am to 6pm
Fee: Free admission for all on weekends
Get ready for an electrifying start to the Indian Heritage Centre’s sixth special exhibition, 'Ente Veedu, My Home: Malayalees in Singapore.' Join us for two action-packed weekends filled with LIVE cultural performances, immersive workshops, and delightful craft activities that is guaranteed to be fun for all!
For more information, please visit this link.
Craft Corner
Photo Credit: Indian Heritage Centre
Venue: Indian Heritage Centre
Date:
- now to 31 Dec 2023: Theyyam headgear
- 2 to 3 Dec 2023: Pookalam & Nilavillaku Lamps
Fee: Free
Get Crafty at our Open House for the special exhibition Ente Veedu, My Home: Malayalees in Singapore. This interactive experience offers a unique opportunity to engage with Malayalee culture through hands-on creativity.
Create your own Theyyam headgear, craft intricate crepe paper pookalam, mould air-dry clay Nilavilakku lamps and strike a pose at our traditional dance photo-op. Our craft corner promises to be an enriching and delightful experience for visitors of all ages.
*While stocks last
For more information, please visit this link.
Young explorer Special Exhibition guide on SMARTIFY
Venue: Indian Heritage Centre
Date: now to 15 Sep 2024
Fee: Free
Empower your child's cultural journey with the Indian Heritage Centre’s child-friendly exhibition guide for the special exhibition Ente Veedu, My Home: Malayalees in Singapore. This guide is designed to make cultural exploration accessible and engaging for young learners and to make it an enriching experience for families. Download the SMARTIFY app and embark on an enriching adventure in Malayalee heritage together!
For more information, please visit this link.
Kathakali Workshop, Performance and Face-Painting by Bhaskar’s Arts Academy
Venue: Indian Heritage Centre
Date and Time:
- 2 Dec 2023: 1pm to 5pm
- 3 Dec 2023: 10.30am to 2pm
Fee: $10 for child, $5 for accompanying adult | Register here
Discover the ancient art of Kathakali, a vibrant South Indian dance form, with Bhaskar's Arts Academy. Kids will be enchanted by this unique opportunity to learn the basics of Kathakali, including intricate steps, expressive hand gestures and mesmerising eye movements.
A free Kathakali performance will follow the workshop, allowing children to witness the magic of this traditional art form. In addition, children will have the chance to participate in a free Kathakali face painting activity at IHC’s lobby.
Don't miss this chance to introduce your children to the mesmerising world of Kathakali! Join us at Indian Heritage Centre for an unforgettable experience as part of our special exhibition Ente Veedu, My Home: Malayalees in Singapore.
This workshop is open to all children aged 5 years and above. Children aged below 7 are to be accompanied by an adult.
For more information, please visit this link or this link to register.
Programmes by the Malay Heritage Centre (MHC)
Tales from the Nusantara: The Gift of the Crocodile
Photo Credit: Malay Heritage Centre
Venue: Singapore Botanic Gardens
Date: 12 Dec 2023
Time: 11am to 12.30pm
Fee: $16 per parent & child pair, $8 per additional child | Register here
Come and meet Damura, a kind and beautiful girl, and find out about her encounter with an unusual fairy godmother, Grandmother Crocodile.
Join Hafiz Rashid, Malay Heritage Centre’s (MHC) storyteller and docent, as he brings you through the enchanting Indonesian adaptation of the well-loved Cinderella story. Thereafter, you will be able to learn about plants featured in the story during a tour around the Centre for Ethnobotany and create your own mini crocodile!
This storytelling session is organised by MHC in collaboration with Singapore Botanic Gardens.
My First Wayang Kulit Show
Photo Credit: Malay Heritage Centre
Explore the wonders of wayang kulit together with Laila in this interactive online game! Get a chance to be a little dalang (puppeteer), put up your first Ramayana performance and get a chance to learn what goes on behind the screen in a wayang kulit show.
Access this online game here for free.
Tales from the Nusantara Storytelling Video Series
Photo Credit: Malay Heritage Centre
Staying home during the school holidays can be a lot of fun with our storytelling series showcasing folktales from the Nusantara (Malay world)! Check out our YouTube Channel for pre-recorded storytelling videos that you can tune in at home or in school.
Activity sheets in both Malay and English are available for download for selected videos.
View the series for free at here.
I am a Little Jewellery Designer
Photo Credit: Malay Heritage Centre
Did you know that a diamond village called “Kampong Intan” used to exist in Singapore? It was bustling with diamond traders and jewellery designers!
Join our friends Laila and Oreo in this interactive video game where you can harvest your own intan (diamond), polish it and set it in a beautiful piece of jewellery. Your creation will also be available for download as an image file to keep forever.
Pssst.. redeem a specially designed sticker at the MHC if you flash your creation- while stocks last!
Access this online game here for free.
Programmes by Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
Connections Across Oceans: Early Chinese Mutual Aid Organisations
Photo Credit: SYSNMH
Venue: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
Date: now to 10 Dec 2023
Time: Tue to Sun, 10am to 5pm (Last Admission 4.30pm)
In partnership with C.V. Starr East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley, this exhibition traces the ebb and flow of mutual aid organisations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in Singapore and San Francisco. Uncover the stories of mutual aid organisations such as Hongmen, locality -based and surname-based organisations and learn about their roles in supporting early Chinese migrant communities.
Wan Qing Plays: Singapore 1889
Photo Credit: SYSNMH
Venue: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
Date: 10 Dec 2023
Time: 10.30am to 1pm
Fee: $8 per pax
What happened in Singapore during 1889? Join us in this limited-time only tabletop card game session where you take on the role of a Chinese merchant in the time leading up to the passing of Societies Ordinance. Manipulate the market and the value of your goods through strategy and accumulate the most points at the end of the game to win! The session is accompanied by a guided tour of the Connections Across Oceans: Early Chinese Mutual Aid Organisations special exhibition to further enhance your gameplay experience.
Lost in Time: The Case of the Missing Researcher
Photo Credit: SYSNMH
Venue: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
Date: 9 & 10 Dec 2023
Time: 2.30pm to 4pm & 4pm to 5.30pm
Fee: $8 per pax
You and your team are called in to investigate the disappearance of a renowned researcher who has vanished while studying a mysterious 19th century artefact. To find and rescue the researcher, you and your team will need to navigate through twists and turns to uncover clues and solve puzzles. Can you locate the missing researcher and bring him back to safety before it's too late?
For more information, please visit Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall’s (SYSNMH) website and Facebook page throughout the period.
Changi Chapel and Museum
Photo Credit: Changi Chapel and Museum
Photo Credit: Changi Chapel and Museum
Address: 1000 Upper Changi Road North, Singapore 507707
Opening Hours: 9.30am to 5.30pm, Tue to Sun (Closed every Mon except Public Holidays, Last admission at 5pm)
Fee: Free admission for Citizens & PRs
The Changi Chapel and Museum tells the story of the prisoners of war and civilians interned in Changi prison camp during the Japanese Occupation. Managed by the National Museum of Singapore, the Changi Museum was revamped and reopened in May 2021. The revamped museum features new content and artefacts, including stories and personal objects collected from families of former internees, presented in an intimate and engaging format. The museum’s narrative is centred on remembrance and reflection, encouraging visitors to contemplate both the hardships that the internees underwent, as well as their courage and resilience in the face of difficulties.
Reflections at Bukit Chandu
Photo Credit: Reflections at Bukit Chandu
Photo Credit: Reflections at Bukit Chandu
Address: 31-K Pepys Road, Singapore 118458
Opening Hours: 9.30am to 5pm, Tue to Sun (Closed every Mon except Public Holidays, Last admission at 4.30pm)
Fee: Free admission for Citizens & PRs
Reflections at Bukit Chandu is a World War Two interpretative centre that commemorates the battle of Pasir Panjang and the men of the Malay Regiment who fought in it, as well as the history of Bukit Chandu itself. Housed in a bungalow that is closely connected to the site’s history, the interpretative centre uses immersive experiences and contextual artefacts to present a multi-faceted look at Bukit Chandu and Pasir Panjang, while inviting visitors to reflect on our nation’s wartime experience and the brave sacrifice of the soldiers.
Programmes by Children’s Museum Singapore
The Marvellous Sugee Cake
Photo Credit: Children’s Museum Singapore
Venue: Children’s Museum Singapore
Date: 5, 6 & 7 Dec 2023
Time: 2pm to 3pm
Fee: $10 per child, with 1 free accompanying adult | Register here (via the “Programmes” tab)
Simon’s family always makes sugee cake on special occasions. And today is one of those days. It’s Simon’s seventh birthday! He can’t wait to bite into a slice. But when Simon sits down to enjoy his treat, things don’t go as planned. Or so it seems, for unbeknown to Simon, his friends and family have been planning a birthday surprise for him – one that involves a marvellous sugee cake!
Join children’s book author and illustrator, Quek Hong Shin in this fun storytelling session that involves games such as quiz time and pass the parcel! This storytelling session is presented by the Speak Good English Movement. This programme is part of Children’s Museum Singapore’s first birthday celebrations.
Recommended for 4 to 8 years old.
What on Earth is a Birthday?
Photo Credit: Children’s Museum Singapore
Venue: Children’s Museum Singapore
Date: 9 & 10 Dec 2023
Time: 4pm to 5.45pm
Fee: $25 per child, with 1 free accompanying adult | Register here (via the “Programmes” tab)
What do birthday celebrations mean to you? Is it just about gifts? Is it about the cake or the food? Or is it a time to gather your family and friends? Join us on an adventure to planet Zoink with our alien friends as they find out how birthdays are celebrated on planet Earth. In this session, you will enjoy an interactive performance and craft activity, as well as a game of BINGO to find out more about birthdays! This programme is a collaboration between Children’s Museum Singapore and LASALLE College of the Arts and is part of Children’s Museum Singapore’s first birthday celebrations. Recommended for 5 to 9 years old.
Little Me, Big Dreams (Exploration Trail Booklet)
Photo Credit: Children’s Museum Singapore
Venue: Children’s Museum Singapore
Date: 30 Nov 2023
Time: 11.00am to 12.45pm
Fee: $8 per child | Register here
Embark on an exciting exploration with WonderBot to discover the remarkable life and achievements of our first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew! Unleash your imagination, be inspired by his legacy, and explore the endless possibilities of your own dreams. Join us on this self-guided adventure and redeem a token upon completion of the missions!
Age recommendation: 5 to 12 years old
Little Red Dot - Mystery Box Challenge
Photo Credit: Children’s Museum Singapore
Venue: Children’s Museum Singapore
Date: 30 Nov 2023
Time: 2pm to 3pm
Fee: $12 per child, with 1 free accompanying adult | Register here
Join us in celebrating the beauty of Singapore, also known as Little Red Dot, and unleash your creativity in this Mystery Box Challenge! Create your very own masterpiece that is inspired by our exhibition “The Boy Who Became Prime Minister” as you receive a mystery box of loose craft materials supported by Preschool Market. Redeem a token upon completion of your challenge!
Age recommendation: 5 to 12 years old
Sam’s Little Red Box (Dramatised Storytelling)
Photo Credit: Children’s Museum Singapore
Venue: Children’s Museum Singapore
Date: 30 Nov 2023
Time: 4pm to 5pm
Fee: $18 per child, with 1 free accompanying adult | Register here
Take a peek into Sam’s little red box and listen to the treasure trove of stories that she has to share about how one man’s dreams and vision brought Singapore to what it is today. Join Sam in envisioning your very own Singapore by creating a diorama that celebrates your dream for our nation! Sam’s Little Red Box is a dramatised storytelling performance and craft created by Zip Zap Zoom Collective to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s birth.
Age recommendation: 5 to 12 years old
