All kids should come to learn about Singapore's unique biodiversity
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum的点评
点评:Other than enjoying nature through the recently UNESCO-crowned Botanical Gardens, this natural history museum is perfect for kids (and adults) to learn about Singapore's unique biodiversity, and be appreciative of what our tiny island state can offer to the animals around the world (i.e. because Singapore is internationally recognized to be an important stopover site for migratory birds, etc). Though small, this museum has a meaningfully curated mix of taxidermized animals from all over the world e.g. one of my favourites was the display of the largest known Japanese Spider Crab placed beside the tiniest. Cute.
Love the three sauropods' skeletons on display, but what we made us appreciate them even more was the accompanying looped video depicting their excavation (and interviews with the various paleontologists) to their arduous transportation and assembling processes. It was really subtle and easy to miss, but we noticed how they used the cool technique of using strategically placed lights to let visitors have a closer "look" at a pterosaur's skeleton - through its shadow. Also loving the interactive displays where visitors were encouraged to touch the exhibits and to use the microscopes to examine the various specimens.
The perhaps most-boring-to-most but honestly-the-most-meaningful part was what we found on the second floor --- where they explained recorded history of how the collections came about --- most of them were collections by our forefathers/colonialists, the British who came to our shores in the 1800s and were utterly amazed at and therefore, meticulously collected thousands of animals' and botanic specimens. Without their curiosity and early scientific prowess, most of the specimens in this museum won't even exist. Fun fact: didn't know Rowell Road in central Singapore was named after Thomas Irvine Rowell, the Principal Civil Medical Officer for the Straits Settlements between 1877 to 1889. Today I learnt (from this museum).
翻译:除了通过最近被联合国教科文组织加冕的植物园享受大自然之外,这个自然历史博物馆非常适合儿童(和成人)了解新加坡独特的生物多样性,并欣赏我们这个小岛国可以为世界各地的动物提供的东西(即因为新加坡是国际公认的重要候鸟停留地等)。这个博物馆虽然很小,但精心策划了来自世界各地的动物标本剥制组合,例如我最喜欢的活动之一是将已知最大的日本蜘蛛蟹放在最小的旁边。可爱的。
喜欢展出的三只蜥脚类恐龙的骨骼,但让我们更加欣赏它们的是随附的循环视频,描述了它们的挖掘(以及对各种古生物学家的采访)到艰苦的运输和组装过程。这真的很微妙,很容易错过,但我们注意到他们如何使用巧妙的技术,即通过战略性放置的灯光,让游客通过阴影更近距离地“观察”翼龙的骨架。还喜欢互动展示,鼓励参观者触摸展品并使用显微镜检查各种标本。
也许最无聊但老实说最有意义的部分是我们在二楼发现的——他们在那里解释了收藏品如何产生的历史记录——其中大部分是我们的收藏品祖先/殖民主义者,英国人在 1800 年代来到我们的海岸,非常惊讶,因此精心收集了数以千计的动物和植物标本。没有他们的好奇心和早期的科学实力,这个博物馆中的大部分标本都不会存在。有趣的事实:不知道新加坡中部的罗威尔路是以 1877 年至 1889 年间海峡殖民地首席民事医疗官 Thomas Irvine Rowell 的名字命名的。今天我(从这个博物馆)了解到。