Insight: The Asian Civilisations Museum

Religious statuary, calligraphic art, textiles and architecture that span several centuries are all housed in the historic Empress Place Building.

If you’re wondering how the multi-ethnic culture of Singapore originated, this museum holds the key. Even visitors who are not history buffs will find the interactive zones, innovative virtual hosts and in-gallery videos highly entertaining. With 11 galleries spread out over three floors, you can easily spend half a day at this excellent museum.

Start with the Southeast Asia collection on level two. From prehistoric agricultural tools to fabric displays and artefacts, the exhibits reveal the diversity of the region. On the same level are the China and West Asia galleries: the Chinese deities, fragile Dehua porcelain and Qu’ran-inspired calligraphic art are highlights.

Visit more Southeast Asia and West Asia galleries on level three, then head down the central staircase to level one, the South Asia galleries, dominated by religious statuary and architectural motifs.

To fully appreciate the museum, take the free one-hour guided tour (Mon–Fri 11am and 2pm, Sat–Sun 11.30am, 2 and 3pm. There are Mandarin, Japanese, French, Spanish and Korean guided tours too, on selected days.

The Essentials

Address: 1 Empress Place, www.acm.org.sg

Tel: 6332-7798

Opening Hrs: Sat–Thur 10am–7pm, Fri 10am–9pm

Entrance Fee: charge

Transport: Raffles Place MRT

Over 1,300 artefacts from the ancient civilisations of Asia are housed within the Empress Place Building, a grand national monument whose history dates back to 1864. With hands-on activities for children, ongoing talks and workshops, and changing special exhibitions, a trip here is no boring history excursion.

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Exploring Islam

The main subject of the West Asia galleries is Islam, with a section focusing on the Qu’ran. The Qu’ran is the holy book that forms the foundation of any Islamic education, and it means “to read” or “to recite”. It is also admired as a calligraphic art form, and the various styles of calligraphy can be seen in these galleries – on paper, textiles, metalwork and even ceramics. Look out for a quaint mosque-like setting (it faces towards Mecca, the direction of prayer) where images of mosque architecture from around the world are projected for viewing. The gallery here also showcases achievements of Islamic scholars since ancient days. For instance, work of Islamic scientists from the 9th to 16th centuries in areas such as medicine, chemistry and mathematics paved the way for the development of modern western science. Learn about Islamic astronomy in this section too; exhibited are precision astrolabe instruments that assisted ancient travellers. By using stars for navigation, Muslim traders were able to get to Southeast Asia in the 9th century.