DINOSAURS are here to stay at the new Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, which will open its doors to the public from tomorrow.
Home to over a million plant and animal specimens, the seven-storey 8,500m2 museum in the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Science is the city-state’s first and only natural history museum.
It will feature three main stars, Prince, Apollonia and Twinky, three 150-million-year-old diplodocid sauropod dinosaur skeletons.
Visitors can also expect to see more than 2,000 specimens, divided into 15 zones, in the exhibition gallery. The main gallery showcases the history and biodiversity of plants and animals, while the heritage gallery, Singapore’s natural history and treasures.
Predicting this new spot will attract visitors who are natural history buffs, Judy Lum, group vice president sales and marketing, Tour East Singapore, said: “Natural history has a wide appeal, and I foresee this will draw interest (especially) from educational institutions, visitors from North Asia and visitors from longhaul destinations.”
Star Holiday Mart general manager, Dominic Ong, said clients are already requesting the museum be included in travel itineraries.
However, the museum has announced that admission tickets are valid only for a duration of 90 minutes, with six such sessions a day starting at 10.00 and ending at 17.30. Each slot can take about 200 people, and tickets must be pre-booked through ticketing agent Sistic.
This administrative measure will help to maximise the visitor experience as large crowds and long queues will inhibit visitors from enjoying history and science, said the museum’s website.
Ong, who will include this new spot in his packages according to requests, added that this time restriction factor will further help tour operators in time management.
Tickets are now available from Sistic and start at S$15 (US$11) per adult for local residents. Standard tickets are S$20 for adults and S$11 for children.
