It’ll be hard to miss this striking new rock-shaped building that’s designed by local architect Mok Wei Wei. What is it? Well, it’s the new Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) that’s located at the National University of Singapore and will be open to the public on Apr 28.
This seven-story monolith houses over a million plant and animal specimens that have been collected since the founding of the Raffles Collection in 1849. The place is also split into two general galleries: the biodiversity gallery and the heritage gallery.
The main biodiversity gallery is split into 15 zones that take you through the history of life on earth and include plants, fungi and mammals. But the real star of the museum is the near-complete fossils of three dinosaurs that roamed the Earth some 150 million years ago. There’s also the heritage gallery that highlights the people who built Singapore. You’ll find exhibitions dedicated to “Singapore Today” and “Cabinets of Curiosity”, but also a huge collection of over 500,000 flora and fauna specimens.
The good news is that you won’t have to squeeze through hundreds of eager folks for a glimpse of these rare artifacts, thanks to the museums cap on visitors and 90-minute session. These sessions run daily (except Mondays) from 10am to 5:30pm, with only 250 visitors allowed in at one time. Tickets cost $15 for locals and PR, while others pay $20. More details here.
