The Singapore History Gallery at the National Museum of Singapore will reopen to the public on 10 October 2026 after its first full revamp since 2006, the museum said on 28 August 2026.
The gallery first opened in 2006 and was last refreshed in 2015. The new version covers more than 700 years of Singapore’s history, from the 14th century to the present, and sits two days before the museum’s 139th anniversary. The reopening also closes a three-year restoration of the museum building, which stayed open while the works were carried out.
Chung May Khuen, director of the National Museum of Singapore, said museums “must evolve alongside the communities they serve” and that the gallery had been “shaped by new research, fresh perspectives and voices from our communities”.
How the gallery was rebuilt
The museum ran focus groups with more than 160 people in 2023 and 2024, and worked with a panel of 12 Singapore academics. Identity and multiculturalism came through as the themes that landed. The gallery is now framed around one question, “Who are we?”, and is meant to be read as one visit with Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time, the immersive prelude launched in 2025.
Post-war and contemporary decades, including the 1980s onwards, carry mostly new content. The museum says those rooms are more contemplative, tying present-day issues to how Singapore’s identity is still being formed.
A restored 1970s HDB lift is among the artefacts going on show. Collection of the National Museum of Singapore. Image courtesy of National Museum of Singapore.
New artefacts on show
Three items are listed as new or previously unseen:
- a restored 1970s Housing and Development Board lift, used to talk about the shift from kampong to HDB living;
- a traditional Nanyang coffee roasting machine from Ho Tit Coffee Powder Factory;
- a commissioned timelapse, The Lion City 2012 to 2026, by photographer Keith Loutit.
Nanyang coffee roasting machine from Ho Tit Coffee Powder Factory. Collection of the National Museum of Singapore. Image courtesy of National Museum of Singapore.
Still from The Lion City 2012 to 2026 by Keith Loutit. Image courtesy of the artist and the National Museum of Singapore.
Anniversary week around the reopening
Stories of Everyday, a nine-day anniversary programme, runs from 10 to 18 October 2026, 10am to 7pm, with last entry to the galleries at 6.30pm. The festival is free to enter. Standard admission still applies to the museum’s galleries. The museum has also said it will reveal a new mascot based on an artefact from the collection; the identity has not been named yet.
Level 2 galleries are scheduled to reopen in 2027, in time for the museum’s 140th anniversary. Further details of the Singapore History Gallery will be announced later. The museum’s page is at nationalmuseum.nhb.gov.sg.
