For some reason, whenever I think of museums, I also think of a large colonial-style building with a large lobby housing a skeleton of a woolly mammoth, or some other large skeleton such as a t-rex or some other extinct animal. But extinction comes in all shapes and sizes, and the best place to go to in Singapore for a lesson in extinction and biodiversity is the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity and Research at the National Museum of Singapore. Tisu Girl discovers this museum that is often overlooked by NUS denizens themselves!

Formerly called the Raffles Museum, which was founded in 1849, RMBR is now part of the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS. Established on 1 October 1998, the RMBR contains some of the oldest and largest collection of plant and animal specimens from Southeast Asia, dating back to the 19th century. Having not studied in the local varsity, I did not know about this museum until I joined the Nature Society and later became friend with one of the staff there. Can’t remember when was my first visit there, but due to some projects, I had to drop by the office a number of times. Unfortunately each time I had to rush off almost immediately after the meeting. However, during the recent visit to the office, I made it a point to stay back to visit the museum once again.

Living in urban Singapore, it’s often easy to overlook how much biodiversity there is in the region – and how much has already been lost due to the rapid pace of development. The Raffles Museum of Biodiversity and Research is a reminder not only of our natural heritage, but a call to cherish and protect it as well.

Check out Tisu Girl’s post here.

(Side note: Did you know that there once was a huge whale skeleton that served as the centrepiece of the National Museum of Singapore? I wonder where it is now…)