Grandparents’ Day at the National Museum of Singapore falls on Saturday, 21 November 2026, the first weekend of the year-end school holidays. The museum at 93 Stamford Road is running a full day of intergenerational programmes, most of them free, plus two paid workshops at S$10 and S$30. A few need registration, so it is worth booking this week if you want a slot.
Everything is built around three themes the museum calls Get Active, Get Connected and Get Nourished. In plain terms: move together, play together and eat together. Bring Ah Ma, Ah Gong or whichever grandparent is free that weekend.
Grandparents’ Day at the National Museum: programmes that need registration
Most of the ticketed sessions are designed for an “intergenerational pair”, which the museum defines as one senior plus one adult or child aged 5 and above. Here is what is on, as listed on the official Grandparents’ Day page:
- Hands, Hearts & History (10.30am to 12pm, Gallery Theatre, Basement): a dance movement workshop where families use artefacts from the Singapore History Gallery, such as a grand piano, a fishing boat and a rickshaw, as inspiration for a short routine. Free with a refundable S$20 deposit per pair. You can join seated, and no dance experience is needed.
- What’s in Grandma’s Kitchen? (10.30am to 12pm, The Salon, Level 1): S$30 per pair. You make mee suah kueh (pan-fried vermicelli cake) and shuang pi nai (double-skin milk pudding), then take a portion of the kueh home. Ingredients are pork-free and lard-free.
- Table of Treasures redemption (11.30am to 2.30pm, Gallery Theatre Foyer): free, but you must pre-register. Pairs can redeem take-home items such as a dragon playground Lego minibuild and Jenga blocks, while stocks last.
- Intergenerational Human Library (2.30pm to 4.30pm, The Salon): S$10 per person, recommended for ages 13 and up. Heritage tradespeople sit with modern hobbyists, including Ho Tit Coffee Powder Factory with home brewer Bartley Brewers, and a traditional potter with polymer clay studio The Shy Crafter.
- Intergenerational Bingo (3pm to 4pm, Gallery Theatre): free with a refundable S$10 deposit per group of two to four, which must include one senior. Families hunt for artefacts in the refreshed Singapore History Gallery, then play challenge rounds. The first 10 families to complete a Bingo win prizes.
The free sessions register through Peatix links on the museum page. The kitchen workshop is sold through the museum’s ticketing site, and there is an option to pay with SG Culture Pass credits, a handy way to put them to use.
Free drop-in activities, no registration
If you would rather just turn up, these run through the day without booking:
- Marketplace booths at the Glass Atrium, Level 2 (10am to 4pm, some close at 3pm): ten interactive stations, including a Health Promotion Board booth that helps seniors set up the Healthy 365 app, food samples and goodie bag redemptions.
- Our Voices, Our Memories at The Concourse, Level 1 (10am to 4pm): six large artworks of seniors’ memories, with a make-your-own fridge magnet craft. Senior artists talk about their paintings from 11am to 11.30am and 1pm to 1.30pm.
- A free play area at the Gallery Theatre Foyer (10am to 4pm) with congkak, Connect 4 and Hawker Wars.
- From Kampong to Catwalk, a seniors’ talent show at The Platform, Level 2, in two parts: 11.30am to 12.15pm and 1.30pm to 2.30pm.
The talent show has wushu, dance and ukulele sets, a skit inspired by the 1930s Southern Cabaret nightclub, and a green runway of costumes made from upcycled materials. It is organised with Lions Befrienders.
A free soup for grandparents, and a whale-themed playground
Dame Museum Café on Level 1 is running a one-day deal on 21 November. Grandparents get a complimentary Fish Maw Soup and Lemongrass Ginger Tea with every order of the Teochew Porridge Platter, Kerabu Bee Hoon or Nasi Ulam Rendang Bowl. The café promo runs from 10am to 7pm.
Out on the Front Lawn, the Whale of a Tale Playground is open from 10am to 7pm. It reimagines the blue whale skeleton that hung in the museum from the early 1900s until the 1970s, and the balance beams are low enough for grandparents to hold a small hand across. My tip: end the day here, because the kids will not want to leave once they start.
Plan your visit
- Date: Saturday, 21 November 2026
- Venue: National Museum of Singapore, 93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897 (a short walk from Bras Basah or Dhoby Ghaut MRT)
- Museum hours: 10am to 7pm daily
- Galleries: free for Singapore Citizens and PRs; other visitors need a ticket
Most activities wrap up by 4.30pm, so aim to arrive by 10am for the morning workshops. Holiday weekends at Stamford Road get busy, and registered slots tend to go first.
Making a holiday week of it? The Children’s Museum’s new Money Town exhibition opens on 14 November, a short walk away. We also have a list of Christmas 2026 family dates for the school holidays, and the NLB Early READ Fiesta for younger readers.
