So after all the havoc of Orchard Road, we decided to head to Gardens by…
The Natural History Museum Of London Is Coming To Singapore
London’s prestigious Natural History Museum is coming to Southeast Asia this November at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore. The exhibition ‘Treasures of the Natural World’ will be open to the public on 25 November 2017.
The ArtScience Museum in Singapore
‘Treasures of the Natural World’ will showcase over 200 of the Natural History Museum’s star objects. This includes:
- Animals and insects
- Works of art
- Gems and minerals
- Books and artefacts belonging to some of the world’s greatest scientists, including Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace
The treasures have been hand-picked from over 80 million artefacts and specimens representing the best of the museum’s collection!
The exhibition spans across five different galleries:
1. Treasures in nature
Highlights in this gallery include the ‘cursed’ amethyst. Its owner, Edward Heron Allen, believed it was cursed, and kept the stone locked inside a series of seven protective boxes. Allen donated the gem to the Natural History Museum, along with a letter warning it was ‘trebly accursed and is stained with the blood, and the dishonour of everyone who has ever owned it’.
Why so drama bro.
The cursed amethyst
Another cool display includes 487-million-year-old giant trilobites. These are flat sea creatures with hard outer skeletons and a segmented body in three parts. Trilobites thrived in the shallow oceans in prehistoric times, but scientists think they may have suffocated during a mass mating event.
Death by orgy not a bad way to go imo.
Giant trilobites.
2. Treasures of the mind
Discover how priceless specimens have inspired scientists to answer some of Earth’s great mysteries.
On display is a hand-written page from ‘On the Origin of Species’ by Charles Darwin. He knew it would be controversial to suggest that species evolved gradually and naturally, but the first edition instantly sold out.
Darwin’s On the Origin of Species manuscript (around 1858 – 1859), along with a finch, mockingbird and pigeon skeleton that he studied when formulating his theory
The important work of Alfred Russel Wallace is also presented. Wallace co-discovered the theory of evolution with Darwin, and undertook some of his most important work in South East Asia. Some of the scientific specimens Wallace collected on the Malay Archipelago are on show in Singapore for the first time.
3. Treasures of exploration
The third gallery tells the adventures and trials of scientific exploration pioneers.
One of the first three emperor penguin chicks ever studied, this chick was collected by Robert Falcon Scott’s party in 1902 on the Discovery expedition. The chick’s stage of development proved that emperor penguins lay their eggs during the dark and bitterly cold Antarctic winter.
Emperor penguin chick skin
4. Treasures of life are everywhere
Many of the treasures in this gallery reveal how nature’s diversity is shaped by the environment and the ability of species to adapt to it.
Dodo model
The dodo is most well-known for being driven to extinction by the arrival of Dutch sailors on the isolated island of Mauritius.
Some dodos fell prey to the rats, cats, pigs, and monkeys that the sailors brought with them, while other dodos lost their habitat caused by deforestation. The birds themselves may have gone hungry, as the invaders cleared forests that had been rich in fruits. Just 90 years later, the dodo was extinct. Omg so sad.
Sabre-toothed cat
Another key display is the sabre-toothed cat. Lion-sized with terrifying teeth, Smilodon died out at the end of the last ice age and it is one of the few sabre-toothed cats that would have encountered humans.
5. A museum for a modern world
The exhibition ends with a look on the unique treasures cared for at the Natural History Museum. Actively studied by researchers around the world, these specimens can help us to tackle the biggest challenges facing our planet today. From predicting and mitigating the impact of climate change to managing natural resources.
‘Treasures of the Natural World’ details:
Dates: 25 November 2017 – 29 April 2018
Location: ArtScience Museum, 6 Bayfront Ave, Singapore
Ticket price:
STANDARD TICKET (SGD) – Adult $17 | Senior/Student/Child $12 | Family Package (2 Adults 2 Kids) $46
SINGAPORE RESIDENT (SGD) – Adult $13.60 | Senior/Student/Child $9.60 | Family Package (2 Adults 2 Kids) $36.80
More info: Website
Opened in 1881, the Natural History Museum in London cares for one of the most scientifically significant natural history collections in the world. It looks after 80 million specimens among a wealth of objects that help scientists understand our planet.
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