Come for a Play Date - Rekindle Nostalgia Toys and Play - TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog

When you look back at your childhood memories, do you still remember which is your favourite toy? Different generations have their own vivid childhood memories of play. Does the current generation know what are your childhood memories like, how different is it compared to now? Why not bring them (your children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces) out to National Museum of Singapore (NMS)? Come for a Play Date – Rekindle Nostalgia Toys and Play. It’s all about play, having fun yet a form of learning, growth and development, for the young and young at heart.

Coming down for a Play:Date – Unlocking Cabinets of Play, was very nostalgic for me personally. There were a number of toys that I grew up playing with, those vivid, fun, wonderful, playful and carefree childhood memories! When I saw the Tamiya cars, I had the burning desire to return back to playing Tamiya toy cars, buying my Tamiya Avante car and building it from scratch, just like my good old childhood days!

Play: Date – Unlocking Cabinets of Play

Starting on 5th July 2024, the National Museum of Singapore (NMS) invites visitors to special experiential pop-up titled Play: Date – Unlocking Cabinets of Play. This is the time to be young at heart again, relive and connect your nostalgic memories in this new toy-theme pop-up, and share your nostalgic childhood play and toys memories with the younger generations!

This special pop-up is developed as part of NMS Collecting Contemporary Singapore initiative, that aims to showcase and collect memories and objects from recent decades. The NMS worked with local toy collectors and artists to co-create this immersive and experiential pop-up showcase comprising large-scale artworks, extensive toy displays, and interactive experiences to tell the fascinating stories behind some of those beloved playtime icons of the past and trace their evolution over the years.

Chung May Khuen, Director of the National Museum of Singapore, said, “Toys are often our first teachers and helped shape our identities in our formative years. As they play such an important role in our lives, using toys as a focal point in this showcase creates a light-hearted way for visitors to connect with each other over their shared memories. We hope this will bring out the collective memories we share of toys across the eras in Singapore, and instil deeper appreciation for toys and play as treasured facets of our combined cultural heritage and the Singapore story.”

Artists help to spread the joys of play to new spaces inside and outside NMS

The NMS is currently undergoing some restoration and upgrading works, thus you can see the hoardings around it. Artists are playing a part to help spread the joys of play to new spaces inside and outside NMS, departing from the traditional exhibition experience of a museum. Play:Date activates various parts of NMS to create a unique and immersive storytelling experience.

Five colourful local artists artworks the hoarding around NMS facade

When you arrive at NMS, you can’t miss the bright and colourful artworks on the hoarding around NMS facade. They are decorated with five large-scale commissioned artworks by five local artists taking visitors on a journey of collecting and the joy of toys in our lives.

Bring toys into reality through a sculptor’s meticulous touch or as a part of a factory line by Tiffany Lovage (Night Shift) and Candice Phang (Joy in the Making).

Capture the excitement of people getting their hands on toys, by Shian Ng (Playtime Pandemonium) and Muhammad Izdi (Flea-ting Moments), with the latter paying homage to flea markets in Singapore, a hotspot for hobbyists.

Ending the series is Kristal Melson’s When I Was Big, which encapsulates how toys cement themselves among our fondest memories as we grow up.

Each of the five artists artworks feature interactive and tactile elements, aiming to stimulate one’s innate curiosity and kickstart your process of learning through play.

A tunnel housing a digital parade of toy figurines

Stepping into NMS, at the entrance to Play:Date, there is a tunnel housing a digital parade of toy figurines by local artist Lioncolony, also known as Oh Jia Hao, which are modelled after his iconic Gman character. These characters are inspired by a selection of toys from the 1950s to the 2000s from our National Collection and local collectors, and this digital parade artworks provide a precursor to the showcase’s overarching narrative of local and global social histories.

Jonathan Goh, Senior Assistant Director of the Museum’s Strategic Marketing and Communications department, who is overseeing the showcase shared, “The restoration works on our National Museum monument building can be challenging for us to continue to engage people to visit us. However, we decided to quite literally think outside of the box, and to purposefully transform these otherwise static and functional spaces into creative canvases that not only draw visitors in, but also enhance the experiences of our other offerings within the museum and foster deeper engagement with the public.”

Play:Date – A showcase displaying a collection of toys from local collectors

The key highlight that you are here for, Play:Date – A showcase displaying a collection of toys from local collectors. Featuring a diverse collection of over 250 locally and globally recognisable toys largely from the 1980s to the present day. Play:Date collectively highlights the socio-historical significance of toys in Singapore story, told through the lens of local toy collectors and organisations.

There are three main sections that tell the nostalgic toy stories of the featured tours and stories from the toy collectors themselves in their toy-collecting journeys:

It’s a Small World

Do you remember those miniature character figurines from instantly recognisable brands that have captured the hearts of children around the world?

McDonald’s

Do you remember a series of local McDonald’s toys – including the popular Mr Kiasu figurines? They are from avid collector Tay Swee Hock!

Barbie

Don’t miss the collection of Barbie dolls from Jian Yang, which includes unique collaborations with local brands and series made from recycled ocean-bound plastic.

Collectible culture in Singapore from ActionCity

There is a collectible culture in Singapore from ActionCity, with locally designed figurines for global companies such as POP MART and Disney. This include the “Pucky Rose Knight”, the first Singapore-exclusive figurine designed to commemorate the opening of Southeast Asia’s first POP MART official store in Singapore.

That’s also the first-ever art collectible designed by Singaporean Daniel Yu inspired by Mickey Mouse and the Jiangshi, a vampire character in Chinese folklore.

Drive-Through Time

This was one of my favourite nostalgic childhood memories, playing with toy cars and toy car races! You can spot Hot Wheels, Tamiya and Matchbox from the collections of Clarence Tan, Jeffrey Wong, Ian Goh, Ridzal Ajis and Muhammad Noor Farhan.

Don’t miss the remodelled Tamiya Rover Mini Cooper, painted in the style of British sitcom character Mr Bean’s iconic green car, that was personally autographed by Tamiya’s CEO Mr Shunsaku Tamiya.

Hot Wheels fans, toy cars enthusiasts, and casual fans alike, you will be awed by The Original 16, the first-ever collection of cars released by Hot Wheels in 1968. Don’t miss the iconic yellow Matchbox cars with vehicles racing from trade lorries and trailers to helicopters and emergency vehicles.

Batteries Included

This is another of my favourite nostalgic childhood memories! Before the era of touchscreen technology, it was the era of retro game consoles, bringing back nostalgic reminders of your childhood days.

Do you remember this iconic digital game – Tamagotchi? They are from Rachel Liew’s collection, which includes various rare designs as well as popular characters such as Gudetama, Hello Kitty and Pac-Man.

Tony Saw’s classic and special handheld consoles by Nintendo and Casio, including a unique calculator that allows students to play a boxing game under the guise of hitting then looks. The most recent experiences include the recreation of Sentosa on popular digital games Animal Crossing and Roblox.

Old-school gaming arcades experiences

Old-school gaming arcades are an integral part of some of us childhood growing up years! Play:Date also features several immersive and interactive experiences inspired by those nostalgia plays.

When you visit Play:Date, you can purchase tokens to participate in a Memory Match game, where you are challenged to memorise a sequence of simple objects displayed on a screen, or a Roadblock Highway game, in which you race to the finish line while collecting coins and avoiding obstacles.

Complementing the nostalgic vibe of the showcase, you will also be able to view a ‘live’ camera image of yourselves via an ‘8bitfy screen’, featuring a retro 8-bit filter layered over the screen.

“Discover Your Play-sonality”

Last but not least, your play finale, you are invited design your own personalised avatar at the ‘Discover Your Play-sonality’ section, which was created in collaboration with local artists together with ActionCity.

You can choose from a selection of four digital toy avatars with different personality types and physical appearances to create your very own ‘Play:Mate’. For a small fee, you can accumulate points by playing the on-site digital games, and exchange these points to customise your avatar with a variety of Singapore-themed accessories.

You can then head over to the accompanying photo booth to take photos of yourselves with your ‘Play:Mate’, or opt for a physical photo printout with a donation to the museum.

Open Call for National Museum’s Collecting Contemporary Singapore Initiative

There is an ongoing effort to enhance the National Collection with more recent social history items with an open call for National Museum’s Collecting Contemporary Singapore Initiative. Visitors are invited to share their own toy stories and to donate their toys dating from the 1980s to the present day. Some of these donations could potentially be displayed in the Museum’s galleries in the future.

MUSEUM MARKET by ABRY

Alongside the showcase, MUSEUM MARTKET by ABRY is partnering with old-school Holland Village party shop Khiam Teck to bring nostalgic and traditional toys and games to visitors of the National Museum.

A beloved local establishment that drew its shutters in May 2024 after over 80 years of business, Khiam Teck has been given a new lease of life with ABRY within the Museum’s walls, where customers can relive their nostalgic memories of buying old-school knick-knacks.

Play:Date – Unlocking Cabinets of Play