The National Museum of Singapore is taking its physical Bicentennial exhibition, An Old New World: From the East Indies to the Founding of Singapore, 1600s – 1819, off-ground and online with its digital version from April 15.
The virtual exhibition transports you back in time to the bustling trading port of the East Indies that drew the attention of the Dutch and British East India Companies. The East Indies was the centre of the spice trade, comprising the Malay Peninsula and Indonesian Archipelago, but the European arrival is only a fraction of its longer history. Uncover the other factors at play leading up to the events of 1819 through this informative exhibition.
There are two modes of navigation to choose from – guided and self-exploratory. The former invites you to explore featured artefacts and the surrounding showcases while listening to narrations by curators Daniel Tham and Iskander Mydin about Knowledge and Power and Seeing the Indigenous. You can also read from the tour script instead by clicking on a button on the bottom right-hand corner. The self-exploratory mode allows you to check out the exhibition at your own pace.
The museum has also announced plans to add more content at a later stage. This includes upping the history game with a commentary for lower secondary students. The commentary complements the museum’s educational resource An Old New World: Investigating Singapore’s History from Pre-Colonial to the Present released along with the physical exhibition. The link to the interactive digital exhibition will be available soon – watch this space.