Singaporeans to "Discover More" about heritage and museums
By Vimita Mohandas, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 30 October 2007 2246 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Singaporeans will get to learn more about their heritage in a fun way in a month-long effort jointly led by the National Heritage Board, National Library Board and Media Development Authority.

Explore Singapore! 2007 with the tagline "Discover More", will feature 86 activities at 20 museums island-wide. Set to run from November 10 to December 31, the aim of Explore Singapore! 2007 is to make heritage and museums more fun and appealing to seniors, families and children.

"We want to give Singaporeans especially the young children something extra to do in Singapore during this holiday season. Instead of going to the shopping centre or watching television, they can actually come down to the museum, and discover much about the heritage and when finding out about their heritage, discover a bit more about themselves," says Michael Koh, Chief Executive of NHB.

With most of the programmes tailored for the young, the museum-going culture could become inculcated in children at a young age. "This is a very important process because we are a young nation and we hope that all of us with our visit to the museums understand more about our own psyche as well as our multi-cultural heritage and identity," said the Chief Executive of NHB.

Some of the activities aimed at the young include a photoblogging contest which would call for participants to showcase the human stories behind our heritage through pictures.

Another programme which is limited to 30 lucky children from 7 to 10 years old is a sleep-over at the Singapore Philatelic Museum with highlights such as a Treasure Hunt and a Bumboat Ride down the Singapore River.

To cater to the man-on-the street, local actor and comedian Mark Lee has been appointed as the ambassador for Explore Singapore! 2007, a role which will see him conducting tours for the public with a dash of his distinct sense of humour.

Lee hopes that with his ability to cater to both the English and Mandarin speaking crowd, he can get more people to enjoy heritage, culture and art in a contemporary setting.

Besides Mark Lee, the National Heritage Board will also rope in Singapore taxi drivers to act as ambassadors too as they can serve as a repository for travel information to tourists. To create awareness among taxi-drivers of the various museums in Singapore, there will be a Taxi-drivers' Open House.

As the older generation may not have had the opportunity to enjoy all that's being offered by Singapore museums right now, the NHB is offering free entry to all NHB museums. Entrace fees for senior citizens will also be waived at the Singapore Science Centre and the Museum of Shanghai Toys from November 19 to 25.

And if you can't take part in Explore Singapore! 2007 during the entire month, you can still try to be a part of the experience with a donation from your archives. That's because the National Library is calling on the public to donate a photograph, postcard or picture of illustration that captures the "Lost Memories" of Singapore before 1970.

So start exploring!