Join us as we celebrate our 139th birthday with a bang!
Be among the first to visit our revamped Singapore History Gallery, featuring new stories and artefacts that offer fresh perspectives on Singapore’s 700 years of history. Step inside and be surprised by in-gallery performances, and learn the story behind Stoney, the Museum’s oldest mystery brought to life.
Outside the gallery, browse locally crafted artworks, tableware, stationery, apparel, home goods and more at our Living & Design Market, open throughout the festival. Unwind at the National Living Room, a life-sized recreation of nostalgic living spaces featuring vintage furniture, appliances and everyday objects.
Connect with yourself and others through participatory dance and community jamming sessions, workshops, a HistoriaSG talk and character meet-and-greets!
Ticketed Programmes
- A Lighter Side of History: Voices from the Sea
10 Oct 2026
10.30am – 12.30pm
The Salon, Level 1
SGD 18 (SG Culture Pass eligible). Recommended for ages 13 and above.
Learn about the world of the Orang Laut! Hear from Orang Seletar artisans Jefree Salim, Anti Jahan, and Nek Leiti as they share about their histories, their deep connections to the Johor–Singapore Straits, and how coastal life, movement and belonging have shaped their identity over generations.
Following the sharing, try your hand at anyaman (traditional weaving) by weaving your own bracelet to take home, and experience firsthand how weaving is intertwined with the community's relationship with natural materials, coastal environments and daily life.
- HollowBody for AnyBody Workshop by T.H.E. Dance Company
11 Oct 2026
10.30am – 12pm
Gallery Theatre, Basement Level
SGD 30 (standard), SGD 20 (concession), SGD 22.50 (early bird available until 30 Sep). Recommended for ages 16 and above.
Experience the Museum beyond its exhibitions. This October, as we celebrate our 139th birthday, discover new ways of noticing and connecting with the spaces within and around you through movement.
In this workshop, participants will be introduced to HollowBody, a signature dance methodology developed by T.H.E’s founding artistic director Kuik Swee Boon and practised by T.H.E dance artists. Conducted by assistant to artistic director Fiona Thng, the workshop invites participants to tune into their bodies, trust their instincts and be curious and creative through guided improvisation and experiential movement exercises. No experience required, just an open mind and a willingness to explore!
- HistoriaSG – Same Same but Different: Women Makers in Our Home Magazine
16 Oct 2026
7.30pm – 8.30pm
The Salon, Level 1
Registration (with $10 refundable deposit) is required.
In the 1970s, Singapore’s new Housing and Development Board (HDB) towns introduced a radically unfamiliar way of life: vertical living, shared lifts and void decks. This talk by Dr Grace Lim explores how new towns brought work, home and community into closer contact, and how women featured in HDB’s Our Home magazine navigated these new environments.
Expect lively images, curious advice and an enlightening look at how women – from factory supervisors and organisers to practical problem-solvers – were presented as models for urban living that may still be relevant today.
About the Speaker
Dr Grace Lim is the recipient of the National Museum of Singapore’s 2025 Research Fellowship. Her archival research examines Our Home, HDB’s entertainment and educational magazine, and how it introduced residents to the new realities of public housing life. She is a lecturer in the English department at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where she teaches literature and cultural studies.
Free Programmes (Daily)
- National Living Room
10 Oct – 8 Nov 2026
10am – 6.30pm
The Platform, Level 2
Travel back in time and into our collective memories in this immersive recreation of a living room of the past, inspired by the Singapore History Gallery. Let the modern world fade away as you relax amid vintage furniture, tune into nostalgic broadcasts and radio tracks, and soak in the atmosphere. Scattered throughout the space and within our cabinet of stories are personal anecdotes from everyday Singaporeans, waiting to be discovered.
- The Living Archive: A Living & Design Market by Of Wonder Wander
10 – 18 Oct 2026
10am – 7pm
The Concourse, Level 1
Discover the Museum’s first Living & Design Market: a celebration of everyday objects and the makers who give them new meaning through thoughtful design and craftsmanship.
Browse a curated selection of ceramics, stationery, art prints, homeware, accessories, food and more, with a refreshed vendor line-up from 14 October.
Head to the Basement Level for workshops, live demonstrations and hands-on activities with makers who are experts at their craft.
- Free Programmes (Weekends only)
Migrant Tales: Rickshaw Puller Meet-and-Greet
10, 11, 17 & 18 Oct 2026
11.15am
Levels 1 & 2*
Recommended for ages 3 and above
Journey into the past by engaging with friendly rickshaw puller Chen as he shares stories of his journey to and life in early Singapore. Chat with Chen and discover the role he played in shaping Singapore!
*The rickshaw puller will rove around public spaces on both levels of the Museum. Each interaction lasts approximately five minutes, with photo opportunities available afterwards.
- [In-Gallery Pop-Up Performances] Finding Our Place: Discovering Connections in Unexpected Places
10, 11, 17 & 18 Oct 2026
2.30pm, 3pm & 3.30pm
Singapore History Gallery, Level 1
When you least expect it, history might just come to life!
As you explore our revamped Singapore History Gallery this October, you may find yourself face to face with a colonial-era secret society member, a postman making his rounds in the HDB flats of the 1970s, or a hawker selling coffee and tea in the 1980s.
The performances will take place in various locations within the Singapore History Gallery and last up to 10 minutes each. As the gallery's capacity is limited, entry to the performance spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Searching Blue《寻蓝》: A Participatory Dance Performance by T.H.E Dance Company
10 & 11 Oct 2026
4.15pm – 5pm
Meeting at Rotunda, Level 1
How often do we stop to notice our surroundings and the people we pass by each day?
Follow, observe, or move along with dance artists as they venture around the Museum's neoclassical heritage building and its modern glass-and-metal extension.
Created by T.H.E Dance Company’s founding artistic director Kuik Swee Boon with Kuala Lumpur–based sound artist Kent Lee, Searching Blue offers a tender reminder in our busy world to pause, sense and reconnect with one another and the world around us.
About the Company
The Human Expression (T.H.E) Dance Company was founded in 2008 by Artistic Director Kuik Swee Boon. Rooted firmly in Singapore yet universal in its perspective, T.H.E's contemporary dance works reveal the body as a medium for exploring and celebrating the human condition.
Concept, Direction & Choreography: Kuik Swee Boon
Music Composition, Sound Design & Performance: Kent Lee
Dance Performance: Fiona Thng, Klievert Jon Mendoza, Chang En, Carmelita Nuelle Buay, Priscilla Chan, Cherie Wong
- Community Jamming with Ann Siang Sounds
18 Oct 2026
3pm – 6pm
Beside A Whale of a Tale Playground, Level 1
Suitable for all ages and abilities. Adult accompaniment required for children aged 5 and under.
Conclude your visit on a high note with Ann Siang Sounds, an open jam community for music lovers and musicians of all backgrounds and experience levels. The session will kick off with a selection of local music featured in our newly reopened Singapore History Gallery. Bring your own instrument, play one of those provided, or simply sit back and enjoy the music!
Cool off with a complimentary ice cream served in a cup, cone or with rainbow bread! Find the ice cream cart under our banyan tree from 2pm to 6pm, while stocks last.
When
Age
0+
Links
Address
Singapore93 Stamford Road Bras Basah, South Singapore 178897
How to get there?
By MRT:
Bras Basah MRT Station (5-minute walk)
Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station (5-minute walk)
City Hall MRT Station (10-minute walk)