M.I.A. Trail

Posted by shaun wong under Museums/Heritage Galleries
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acroamatic, a Friend of yesterday.sg, was one of the guides for a night tour of Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, Pasir Panjang Ridge, Reflections at Bukit Chandu and Memories at Old Ford Factory. We tagged along for this adventure.

First Stop: Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research

At this museum, we:

Recognised familiar insects…

learnt that horseshoe crabs bleed blue…

… and discovered this shark was found on Singapore’s shores.

We were wondering amongst ourselves why this Tasmanian crab’s claw…

… has similiar proportions to Hellboy’s Right Hand of Doom.

Our guide pointed out the orange fiddler crab to us…

… and explained that posessesing a bigger claw was exclusive to male crabs.

To vye for female crab’s attention, the male crabs would brandish their claws in a showdown.

The female crab would choose the male crab with the bigger claw as her mate. Size does matter in this case.

We said goodbye to the Rafflesia…

… and made our way to…

Second Stop: Kent Ridge Park

The walk was a nice progression from seeing preserved animals to hopefully encountering live ones.

The excellent vantage point on the boardwalk made us want to come during the day.

During this tour, our guide shared with us stories of plants and animals along this trail.

Of course, this was an opportune time to explain why the Tembusu tree was associated with a Malay spirit.

Ok, admittedly the pictures are too dark, tell you nothing, and are more suited for SPI’s site.

To learn more about Pasir Panjang Ridge (Kent Ridge’s original name), check out this article - Impressions of the Ridge.

On to…

Third Stop: Reflections at Bukit Chandu

Our guide explained the significance of this work, ‘The Battle of Pasir Panjang’ (1981) by Mr Hoessein Enas and how it’d moved Malaysian Armed Forces personnel who had visited this centre last year.

We were led to discover the galleries.

And experience its multimedia videos.

Learning about the hardship of POWs.

Pondering at the Well of Reflection.

Read more about Reflections at Bukit Chandu.

And finally…

Fourth Stop: Memories at Old Ford Factory

We were in for a treat at Memories at Old Ford Factory’s new auditorium.

We were watching…

Nah, just kidding there.

We generally liked the presentation and the actual archives materials used in the 20 minute clip, ‘The Battle for Singapore’.

National Archives of Singapore’s staff took us on a guided tour of the galleries.

This work by Liu Kang always evokes strong emotions in me as it shows the ugliest sight of the war.

The two key men in Singapore’s surrender.

Read more about Memories at Old Ford Factory
End of Trail

A big thank you to all the museums for opening beyond their working hours, and the guides for their educational and entertaining tours.

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