Adventures at Singapore Philatelic Museum

Right after our adventure at the National Museum of Singapore, we took a short walk to the Singapore Philatelic Museum, since it’s so close by. EV went there recently with her school, but she happily went again to be the guide for AA, who has never been there before.

The highlight for this trip has to be the Shaking It With Shakespeare exhibition, which is held in celebration of the bard’s 400th birthday. In that small little room, the folks at Singapore Philatelic Museum were able to squeeze in so much information of one of the world’s greatest writers.

From an introduction of who he is and the life he lead during the period he lived in, 

To an interactive ‘pull-out’ display of this playwright and poet’s plays and sonnets, 

To a display of the objects, both exotic and everyday, from Shakespeare’s times

To a display of magical spells and cures from the Tudor Times,

And even a feature of words, phrases and insults invented by Shakespeare that we still use today, EV and AA learnt all about this talented wordsmith whose works still influence today’s society.

In fact, EV recognized a picture depicting a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which she read about from one of her storybooks. She was quite delighted. At the words and phrases features, she understood what the phrase ‘to catch a chill’ meant, and when told it was invented by Shakespeare many hundreds of years ago, she was visibly impressed.

In a separate area outside the room, EV and AA could see stamps from around the world that featured Shakespeare, and also the many plays and movies that were inspired by Shakespeare’s plays.

They listened to how people spoke during that time, and also the different types of music then. They also saw costumes used in a Romeo & Juliet ballet production, and AA even tried dressing up as a Shakespearean character, though he refused to have me take his photo.

We moved upstairs, and another highlight was the More Than Monkeys exhibition.

Here, stamps depicting primates are featured, and there are even showcases of personalities such as chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall and legendary characters such as Sun Wu Kong. EV and AA also saw how primates are physically similar to us humans in terms of physical structure.

In celebration of Singapore’s 50 Years, there is also the Singapore Journey: 50 Years Through Stamps exhibition, showcasing the country’s development.

Just opposite this exhibition is a small display of how food was kept and cooked in the olden days.

Of course, EV had to bring AA through the permanent exhibits, such as the Orange Room, and the Room of Rarities, where AA saw what a post box look like in the past, and the equipment used to postmark letters. 

There have been some changes to the Heritage Room, since I last visited with EV. The wooden clogs area has been removed and now replaced by a display of spices. Instead, the wooden clogs are now used as a decorative piece, which is sad, because kids can have so much fun experiencing walking in clogs. The musical instruments have also been removed, which again is quite a pity because it can be quite an engaging experience for kids.

The teh tarik table is still there.

The interactive video depicting traditional trade routes in the 19th century is also not working, and instead, there are more spices on display there.

Overall, while the Heritage Room still has some history, it isn’t as engaging as it was before.

Overall, the trip to the Singapore Philatelic Museum was educational. The Shaking It With Shakespeare exhibition was well put together, simple and engaging enough for everyone, young and old, Shakespeare fan or not, to appreciate the talent of this acclaimed writer from the Tudor times, who is still relevant today in more ways than we know.

Shaking It With Shakespeare

Level 1

Now till 15 Jan 2017

More Than Monkeys

Level 2

Now till 16 Oct 2016

The Singapore Journey: 50 Years Through Stamps

Level 2

Now till 16 Oct 2016

Orange Room (Level 1), Room of Rarities (Level 2), The Heritage Room (Level 2)

Permanent exhibitions

Time: 10am – 7pm

Admission: Adult $6, Child $4, free admission for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents

Find out more here. 

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