Media Release out of Class and Into the Museums For
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MEDIA RELEASE OUT OF CLASS AND INTO THE MUSEUMS FOR SOME HOLIDAY FUN Children’s Season 2015 returns with a slew of exciting programmes to cultivate an appreciation for Singapore’s heritage amongst the next generation Singapore, 28 May 2015 – If you know your ABCs, like listening to stories, and enjoy playing make-believe with costumes and other objects, please raise your hand as the National Heritage Board (NHB) wants you! 2. Parents – haven’t planned that June holiday get-away? Book a staycation and pop into any of the 19 museums that are participating in Children’s Season 2015. Presented by NHB and the Museum Roundtable (MR), the eighth Children’s Season runs from 30 May to 28 June 2015, and will feature over 50 fun-filled yet educational programmes and activities. 3. From a dedicated children’s gallery at the National Museum of Singapore, to interactive and child-friendly displays in exhibitions, and specially-developed education programmes and workshops, NHB is going all out to engage audiences from as young as four years of age. Through a combination of heritage education and outreach programmes, such as the popular Children’s Season, NHB seeks to cultivate a love for museums, and develop an early interest in the arts and heritage in children. Children’s Season 2015 – A Myriad of Exciting Programmes for the Young and Young at Heart 4. National Museum of Singapore’s flagship Children’s Season event, Masak Masak 2015, returns with a variety of interactive and engaging activities to bring families to the museum. Pick up a copy of Baby Block's Day Out, an easy-to-follow storybook exhibition guide, and your day is set! There are lots to do, from bouncy playgrounds reminiscent of our familiar neighbourhood mosaic playground, crafts such as traditional woodblock prints, to a massive maze and up-close giant illustrations! 5. Introduce the young ones to our Singapore artists and creators who are featured prominently in this year’s Masak Masak. They are Jeremy Hiah, Koh Sia Yong, students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, the National University of Singapore Division of Industrial Design, the School of the Arts, as well as actress/illustrator Jeanette Aw. International artists include Crystal Wagner and Mademoiselle Maurice. 6. Next, take a scenic stroll to the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) where an animal race awaits! Once Upon a Time in Asia: The Animal Race introduces the cultural tradition of the Chinese zodiac animals. Through original interactive ensembles, inspired by objects in ACM’s collection, as well as specimens and replicas from the Singapore Science Centre, and storytelling sessions, ACM’s specially curated exhibition engages young visitors to discover interesting animal facts using the five senses – from learning about animal poop to exploring the symbolism of animals in other Asian traditions. While you are there, don’t miss the inspiring works from the little tots of Kinderland. Holiday programmes at ACM include creating felt animal plushies, print-making, and a cute animal dance class! 7. Before heading home, pick up a copy of The Missing Mouse which magically brings the museum’s artefacts to life in a riveting, fantastical tale involving Ganesha the Elephant God and his best friend, Mr Mouse. Great bedtime reading to wind down from all that excitement! Or purchase a special deck of SNAP! cards from the Peranakan Museum where kids can learn about various aspects of daily life in a Peranakan household, for a fun snappy game for the whole family. 8. Venture out to other museums, across the island, that have also come on board to present a series of unique activities. For the very first time, NUS Museum will be conducting a heritage conservation workshop that will cast the spotlight on Singapore’s monuments, objects, traditions and culture. Participants will be equipped with conservation techniques while getting hands-on experience with a piece of history. The Singapore Discovery Centre will be celebrating cultural diversity at their International Friendship Day special weekend with musical and cultural performances, and traditional foods. Young visitors to the Army Museum, Police Heritage Centre, Peranakan Museum and Singapore Science Centre will be able to try their hands out at being in the armed or police forces, a young Peranakan of the past, or a young scientist. Heritage beyond Museum Doors – Singapore’s Little Treasures 9. Parents with pre-schoolers will be glad to know they are not too young for our museums! Last year, NHB and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) launched the Singapore’s Little Treasures (SLT) project. This pilot initiative enabled pre-schoolers to discover heritage through purposeful and engaging classroom activities, and museum visits. The project was successfully rolled out in 10 pre-school centres last year, and will be extended to 40 this year. 10. A complementary initiative SLT Mother Tongue, targeted at pre-school Mother Tongue teachers of the Chinese, Malay and Tamil languages, will also be launched this year. NHB will train Mother Tongue teachers to design lesson plans based on heritage objects. The teachers will also visit NHB’s heritage institutions – the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, Malay Heritage Centre and Indian Heritage Centre, to enhance cross-cultural understanding. Similar to the first SLT initiative, NHB will produce three learning kits containing heritage objects of significance to allow teachers to better explore stories of each ethnic group. Some of these objects include name seals (Chinese), wayang kulit (Malay) and printing press stamps (Indian). 11. Says NHB’s Assistant Chief Executive, Museums and Programmes, Mr Tan Boon Hui, “NHB works closely with our MR partners, the Ministry of Education, agencies such as ECDA, and schools on different platforms to develop a comprehensive package of in- museum, and outreach, programmes to reach out to the younger generation, because we recognise the importance of early engagement. We want to cultivate a new generation of young heritage and museum lovers. As parents and adult caregivers are the best educators and influencers on children, our programmes are also geared towards inter-generational participation, and we hope that the museums will be on the to-do list for families.” Please refer to the following attachments: Annex A for a backgrounder on Singapore’s Little Treasures Annex B Programmes and participating museums/galleries for Children’s Season 2015 Factsheet on National Museum’s Masak Masak 2015 Factsheet on Asian Civilisations Museum’s Once Upon a Time in Asia: The Animal Race For more information, please visit www.museums.com.sg/ - END - About National Heritage Board The National Heritage Board (NHB) was formed on 1 August 1993. As the custodian of Singapore’s heritage, NHB is responsible for telling the Singapore story, sharing the Singaporean experience and imparting our Singapore spirit. NHB’s mission is to preserve and celebrate the shared heritage of our diverse communities, for the purpose of education, nation-building and cultural understanding. It manages the national museums and heritage institutions, and sets policies relating to heritage sites, monuments and the national collection. Through the national collection, NHB curates heritage programmes and presents exhibitions to connect the past, present and future generations of Singaporeans. NHB is now a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Please visit www.nhb.gov.sg for more information. About Children’s Season Children’s Season seeks to inspire, engage and educate children through experiential exhibits and educational children’s programmes. Jointly organised by the National Heritage Board and Museum Roundtable, the eighth Children’s Season will be held from 30 May to 28 June 2015. For more information, visit www.museums.com.sg For media enquiries, kindly contact: Cherell Soon Sherman Wong Associate Associate DID: 6221 3808 DID: 6221 9902 Mobile: 8102 9131 Mobile: 9147 6300 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] ANNEX A About Singapore’s Little Treasures ‘Singapore’s Little Treasures’ (SLT) is National Heritage Board’s inaugural project to bring Singapore’s shared history and heritage to the pre-school sector. This project is a collaborative effort of NHB and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and had a successful pilot trial run last year. Through this initiative, pre-schoolers will have the opportunity to discover our multi-cultural heritage through creative, engaging and purposeful classroom activities and museum visits. The educators will also be equipped with the knowledge of Singapore’s shared history as well as strategies to promote heritage learning using specially-curated resources from the National Museum of Singapore (NMS). SLT has 3 components: 1) Teacher Engagement and Training, 2) Museum Visit and 3) Outreach & Sharing. 1. Teacher Engagement & Training Teacher Engagement & Training is a key feature of this project. The 2-day training for the participating pre-school educators has been specially customised by NHB and ECDA based on their prior knowledge and experience of heritage and museum. Besides empowering educators with key content and strategies in heritage learning, the training oriented educators to museum spaces and exhibits, and also provided opportunities for pre-school and museum educators to co-design innovative lessons and spaces for pre-school classrooms. A key goal of teacher engagement and training is to build a learning community of pre-school teachers who are keen to work on innovative approaches in their lessons and encourage their pre-schoolers to discover the world around them through Singapore’s shared history and heritage. 2. Museum Visit The participating educators will visit Play@NMS at the National Museum of Singapore. Through these visits, they have had first-hand experience of the museum and will be able to develop and facilitate purposeful play for their pre-schoolers at Play@NMS and the Goh Seng Choo Gallery.