The iconic flagship Singapore History Gallery of the National Museum of Singapore (NMS) is back in action! Singapore History Gallery reopens on 10 October 2026, presenting a new, fresh, people-centric narrative and approach that explores the birth and continuous evolution of a Singaporean identity. Visitors to Singapore History Gallery are invited to engage with over 700 years of history through a revamped, new age, diverse, wider and deeper, thoughtful presentations of historical artefacts and narratives, powered by immersive, interactive multimedia spaces.
Singapore History Gallery reopening on 10 October 2026 also anchors NMS 139th Anniversary Celebrations: Stories of Everyday. Taking place from 10 to 18 October 2026, there would be festivities and activities taking place, this also marks the debut of Stoney – NMS new mascot inspired by the storied Singapore Stone. The celebrations also mark the completion of NMS’s three-year restoration works while it continues with phases revamp of the rest of its permanent galleries, slated for completion in early 2027.
“The reopening of the Singapore History Gallery is a milestone that carries deep meaning for us. It is the culmination of years of work, shaped by the voices of our communities and grounded in our belief that Singapore’s story belongs to everyone who has lived it,” said Chung May Khuen, Director of the National Museum of Singapore. “Opening on the weekend of our 139th anniversary, it is a reflection and affirmation of our enduring mission as the People’s Museum – a place where every visitor, regardless of background, new and returning alike, can find themselves in the living tapestry of Singapore’s story.”
Singapore History Gallery – Our History Through the Voices of Those Who Lived It
The Singapore History Gallery tells our timeless tales told anew: telling our history through the voices of those who lived it.
Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time
Before you step into the revamped Singapore History Gallery, enter into Shaw Foundation Glass Rotunda’s immersive installation, Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time, the revamped Singapore History Gallery forms an integrated narrative experience for you to journey through.
After travelling back in time through regional myths and historical maritime milestones, you are now ready to continue your journey into Singapore History Gallery, on a chronological, in-depth, diverse, wider and deeper exploration of Singapore’s story that traces how the nation’s identity has been shaped over seven centuries, and the journey till today and beyond, what it means to be a Singaporean today.
Are you ready to travel back in time with the Singapore History Gallery?
Are you ready to travel back in time over seven centuries? Your journey ahead is going to be a different and unique experience, dynamic soundscapes and visual experiences that you see at the Gallery’s entrance would set the stage for your travel across the various zones in the Gallery. Be ready to mesmerised by never-before-seen artefacts and fresh research alongside multimedia spaces and interactive touch points.
There are also voice input stations, a new addition planted throughout the Gallery, inviting you to share your reflections on the presented stories and perspectives. At each station, you are invited to record your personal responses to a question relevant to the main theme of each zone of the exhibition. These visitor contributions come together to shape the concluding experience at the end of the Gallery.
Let’s begin our time travel journey back in time to a few centuries before Sir Stamford Raffles arrival in Singapore.
Fluid Beginnings (1300s-1800s)
Your maiden experience in the Singapore History Gallery begins with Fluid Beginnings (1300s-1800s). A newly commissioned jongkong boat model welcomes you into the revamped Gallery, connecting between Singapore’s maritime heritage and the living communities that still continues to carry it forward today.
Fluid Beginnings invites you to explore a region defined by the sea, where ships, goods and people moving constantly throughout Singapore’s waters, weaving the island into a vibrant maritime network that shifted with trade, politics and power.
Visitors would be encountering artefacts that speak to Singapore’s deep cultural roots and its place within the Malay world, from sacred figurines and manuscripts to treasures recovered from a 14th-century shipwreck in Singapore’s own waters.
Don’t miss the iconic Singapore Stone, take pride in this layered and still-unfolding history, that can be discovered through an accompanying digital interactive.
Colonial City (1800s-1930s)
The era that started Singapore’s shift and transformation from a fledging trading post into one of Asia’s most dynamic port cities. At the start of this section, visitors would know more about the world before British arrival, before tracing the rapid growth that followed Raffles declaration of Singapore as a free port, drawing merchants, migrants and labourers from across Asia whose toil and enterprise built the colony’s prosperity.
Observe the maps, early photographs, prints and many more that capture the physical transformation of the island. Keep a lookout for the everyday objects and stories of traders and immigrants that made Singapore home, providing insights into a city of both cosmopolitanism and marked inequality.
A recreated rickshaw allows visitors to try their hand at lifting and pulling it, through a physical digital interactive. This can be a fun and memorable experience to interact and understand some parts of life in Singapore back in those days.
Next up would the political awakenings taking shape as global currents of nationalism reached Singapore’s shores and its diverse communities began to imagine a future beyond imperial rule.
Fall of the Fortress (Late 1930s-1940s)
What was Singapore’s social fabric like during that turbulent and dark times? This section examines the rupture of Singapore’s social fabric during the Japanese occupation alongside the resilient it forged.
Learn more about the mounting tensions of the Sino-Japanese War through the propaganda posters and war photographs capturing how distant conflict drew residents into opposing camps.
Through an interactive display of a painting by Force 136 veteran Tan Chong Tee, presented next to the original, visitors can trace the arc of tension during that period. The painting chronicles key events of the Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1939, and the rising pressures that brought war to the shores of Singapore.
Thereafter, follow the swift collapse of Britain’s “impregnable fortress” through personal effects, military artefacts, and letters that tells the high human cost from the Fall of Singapore. Visitors can step into the moment of Japanese surrender at an interactive Morse code station, before ending your tour in this section with the aftermath of the occupation and stirrings of a Malayan identity.
Towards a New Identity (1950s-1960s)
The post-war years, towards a new identity with a push for self-determination. This section captures the hard-fought journey taken by Singapore towards self-governance while also exploring the artistic awakening that formed the backdrop to the bird of a sovereign nation.
Post-war Singapore grapples with poverty and colonial discontent, artists and activists during that era channelled their aspirations into woodblock prints, literature and theatre, giving voice to the ordinary people in that era.
Through student demonstrations and labour strikes during that era, feel the energies unleashed by them onto the streets. On the other hand, a new generation of local leaders emerged to contest competing versions for Singapore’s future.
Anchoring that era’s civic heartbeat in this zone is Zubir Said’s piano, the instrument on which he composed “Majulah Singapura”, displayed in Singapore History Gallery for the first time.
Watch a multimedia recreation of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s televised conference announcing Singapore’s separation from Malaysia, inviting visitors to sit with and contemplate this pivotal moment in Singapore’s history.
Becoming Singapore (1960s-1980s)
Becoming independent and post independence years, discover how Singaporeans built new lives alongside major government reforms to the economy, housing and education. Singapore’s industrialisation is brought to life through everyday artefacts from Fairchild Semiconductor, capturing what it meant to be part of a generation of workers – many of them women – who found livelihoods in the factories that helped transformed Singapore’s economy.
A restored HDB lift might invoke some nostalgia memories for those that grew up in this era, showcasing the spirit of adaption extending to the experience of high-rise living. There is a poem that accompanies it that captures the mix of enthusiasm and anxiety that came with leaving the kampongs behind.
In this era of growth, rising incomes, it brought about modern conveniences and a new generation of Singaporeans coming of age under a revised bilingual education system, a shared Singaporean identity gradually started to take shape.
At the end of this section, a recreation of a typical void deck where visitors are invited to take a seat and read Arthur Yaps’ poem “2 mothers in a h d b playground” – an intimate snapshot of everyday life in a nation finding its footing.
Continuing on this journey, the Gallery shifts to a colourful exploration of leisure and lifestyle that defined Singapore’s bolder urban identities and aspirations. Step into a passageway inspired by Orchard Road, complete with street lamps and signboards, setting the tone for you to explore how Singaporeans expressed themselves through food, fashion, film, sports and nightlife.
Unlock stories about Singapore’s hawker culture through a hawker table installation, tap and rotate the the food items. Explore how independent filmmakers brought Singlish to life on screen and homegrown designers made their mark on the world stage.
For those retro Mambo music lovers, do you remember the good old Zouk at Jiak Kim Street? How about techno music at Phuture?
Explore how sports brought Singaporeans united together in shared moments of national pride. If you haven’t experienced the Great Singapore Workout before, why not join in and try it out while watching archival footage of it?
As Singapore approached the eve of a new millennium, see how a city is ready on the cusp of change and the people ready to meet it.
Looking Global (2000s-Present)
Not only has the Singapore History Gallery goes further back in time to the 1300s, this section traces the more current and recent times of Singapore’s modern history, from the 200s to the present as Singapore is looking global and beyond.
Singapore grew into a major financial and maritime hub, a world-class metropolis defined by its diverse and dynamic cosmopolitan people, and a cityscape that is constant reinventing and improving themselves.
First and foremost in Looking Global section, there is an amazing and mind-blowing timelapse by photographer Keith Loutit, titled “The Lion City 2012-2026”, compresses nearly 15 years of Singapore’s development and redevelopment into two and a half minutes.
Next up is an interactive mural charing Singapore’s place in global networks of trade, travel and communications. Discover ow have Singaporeans engaged with the world, from technological innovations with global impacts, to efforts in sustainability and humanitarian aid, while turning to the more personal question of what it means to belong to a city that never stands still.
Who Are We Today? – a film featuring candid conversations with residents of diverse backgrounds that poses the Gallery’s central question to the visitor, inviting them to reflect on their own place in Singapore’s ever-evolving story.
Before you exit Singapore History Gallery, enjoy a cinematic concluding experience that carries you from Singapore’s past into its future. An immersive experience that draws together Singapore’s past to present in the form of a connected landscape, a projected river send glimmer of voices contributed by visitors drifting towards the walls.
From the various voice input stations throughout the Gallery, collecting the values, beliefs and aspirations shared by the visitors, this collective vision produces a unique skyline of future Singapore, accompanied by a reflection crafted from visitors’ own words.
NMS 139th Anniversary Celebrations: Stories of Everyday
The National Museum of Singapore (NMS) celebrates its 139th anniversary through Stories of Everyday, taking place from 10 to 18 October 2026, with programmes and activities themed around the lived experiences of everyday Singaporeans across generations.
The Living Archive: A Living & Design Market by Of Wonder Wander
A curated selection of ceramics, stationery, accessories, food and more is taking place. That would be a refreshed vendor line-up on 14 October. There is also a special interactive installation, The National Living Room, at the Museum’s Platform space, recreating a living room of the past, featuring objects and stores from Singaporeans that breathe life into a house and transform it into a home.
Official Debut of Stoney
Stoney, NMS charming new mascot inspired by the Singapore Stone, a National Treasure on display at NMS, is going to make its official debut.
Stoney’s story begins as he awakens on the banks of the Singapore River with no memory of where he came from. Longing to find his true kin, he embarks on an island wide trek through modern Singapore – this journey ultimately leads him back home to the National Museum of Singapore, just as the doors of the revamped Singapore History Gallery opens its doors to welcome him.
Come meet-and-greet Stoney at NMS reopening celebrations, there are also photo opportunities with a larger-than-life Stoney installation on NMS lawn. Want to own Stoney? You can take Stoney home in the form of a keychain plush, available at the Museum Market by Abry store for $13.90 from 10 October onwards.
Exciting and Fun programmes at Stories of Everyday Celebrations
There is a diverse line-up of programmes for all ages, check out contemporary dance performance Searching Blue《寻蓝》T.H.E Dance Company, HistoriaSG heritage talks, roving historical figure performances and community music jamming with Ann Siang Sounds.
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