National Museum of Singapore’s revamped Singapore History Gallery reopens on Oct 10

To mark the reopening of the Singapore History Gallery and the National Museum’s 139th anniversary, the museum will hold nine days of festivities from Oct 10 to 18, featuring installations, an art market, live performances, workshops and various activities.

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29 Sep 2026 05:51PM (Updated: 29 Sep 2026 05:55PM)

History buffs will soon have a revamped space to explore more than 700 years of Singapore's past.

The National Museum of Singapore's flagship Singapore History Gallery will reopen on Oct 10 following its first full revamp since the gallery opened in 2006.

The gallery, which was previously refreshed in 2015, will trace Singapore's history from its place within the Malay World in the 14th century through British colonisation, the Japanese Occupation and independence to the present day. 

New research, artefacts, personal accounts and interactive elements have been incorporated into the gallery, with greater attention paid to how Singapore's multicultural identity developed and how historical events connect with contemporary life.

The post-war period has also been expanded, with sections covering the 1980s onwards featuring mostly new content on how more recent developments have shaped Singapore and its identity.

The changes follow consultations conducted by the museum in 2023 and 2024 with academics, consultants and members of the public. More than 160 people from different age groups and backgrounds participated in focus group discussions. According to the museum, themes of identity and multiculturalism resonated particularly strongly, while participants wanted greater historical context and stronger connections between the past and issues they encounter today.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE GALLERY

The visitor experience begins with Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time, the permanent multimedia experience that opened in 2025. It serves as an immersive introduction to Singapore's major historical milestones and myths before visitors continue into the Singapore History Gallery.

In the gallery, historical objects sit alongside personal accounts, multimedia displays, tactile elements and experiential installations. Among the more unusual objects is a restored HDB lift from the 1970s, used to explore Singapore's transition from kampung life to public housing – including how residents adapted to, or struggled with, that change.

There's also a traditional Nanyang coffee roasting machine from Ho Tit Coffee Powder Factory, as well as a newly commissioned timelapse by photographer Keith Loutit capturing nearly 15 years of changes to Singapore's cityscape.

Other artefacts include the piano on which composer Zubir Said composed Majulah Singapura; a Japanese propaganda map dating from 1939 to 1942; and the first printed edition of Munshi Abdullah's major literary work Hikayat Abdullah.

The museum's wider overhaul isn't finished yet. The Singapore History Gallery's reopening follows the launch of Singapore Odyssea last year, while its Level 2 galleries are scheduled to reopen in early 2027, completing the phased revamp in time for the museum's 140th anniversary.

CELEBRATION OF THE MUSEUM'S 139TH ANNIVERSARY 

To celebrate both the gallery's return and the National Museum of Singapore's 139th anniversary, the museum will hold nine days of activities from Oct 10 to 18 under the title Stories of Everyday.

Visitors can expect special art installations, an art market, live performances, workshops and other activities centred on everyday experiences and memories of life in Singapore.

The museum will also introduce a new mascot, with merchandise and meet-and-greet sessions planned during the celebrations. Named Stoney, the mascot takes inspiration from the Singapore Stone, a surviving fragment of a sandstone boulder that once stood at the mouth of the Singapore River. The boulder was blown up by the British in 1843, while the inscription on the surviving fragment remains undeciphered.

Stories of Everyday runs daily from 10am to 7pm from Oct 10 to 18, with last admission to the galleries at 6.30pm. Admission to the anniversary festivities is free, while admission to the Singapore History Gallery is free for all visitors from Oct 10 to 12. Singapore citizens and permanent residents continue to enjoy free general admission after that. More information is available on the museum's official website.