Singapore Odyssea, once upon a tide and a very rainy afternoon at the National Museum of Singapore

We headed to the National Museum of Singapore, intending to check out the newest permanent exhibition, Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time. One exhibition, in and out, maybe a sweet treat after. As we turned in, there was already some light foreshadowing. Dark, brooding clouds hovered overhead, the kind you notice but don’t take seriously enough. Let's just say, our umbrella-less selves were not ready for the full “honey, you got a big storm coming” moment that was quietly brewing...

Clear warnings were issued. We were blissfully oblivious.

We redeemed our free general admission tickets at the counters after booking our timeslot online. A small but very welcome perk for Singaporeans and permanent residents (I’d never say no to anything free).

Right at the corner before we turned to the exhibitions, we saw a staff member carefully tending to a board that was completely plastered with admission stickers. So filled, in fact, that we could barely tell what was printed underneath.

Naturally curious, we asked if this was normal. He laughed and told us it was a feedback board. The admission stickers doubled as votes, and visitors could paste them to show how their museum visit went. Judging by how packed the board already was, either people had a lot of feelings and weren’t holding back, or the board had gradually become a post-visit sticker dumping ground.

Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time

With that, we finally made our way towards Singapore Odyssea, housed inside the Glass Rotunda. At the entrance, we were asked to choose a wristband. Three colours glowed from glass boxes. Orange. Green. Dark blue, which was very obviously the crowd favourite. By the time we got there, only one remained. Tiny pang of FOMO, but fate had already chosen for us. At this point, we still weren't entirely sure what the wristbands were for, but that didn't bother us because we were stoked!

1. Globe Entrance – Singapore’s Global Ties Come to Life

The moment we swatted aside the heavy curtains, the atmosphere shifted. We were greeted by a glowing 2.4-metre LED sphere, the only source of light in the space. Mirrors wrapped around it, multiplying its reflection until it felt less like an object and more like a kaleidoscope of time. It instantly set the tone for the rest of the exhibition.

This wasn’t going to be a history lesson that put you to sleep. Instead, history would be told through powerful visuals, starting with tracing Singapore’s global connections from 11th-century Arab sea routes to today’s modern trade corridors.

It really stopped us in our tracks so completely that, for a moment, we were the only ones there: no crowds, no noise, just us and a glowing orb having a main-character moment.

2. Spiral Ramp – A Descent Through Time

After what felt like a brief pause in time with the glowing globe, we moved into the second act. This meant descending a 100-metre spiral ramp within the rotunda. As we curved our way down, Singapore’s story unfurled along the walls. We drifted from imagined futures to modern cityscapes, then slowly rewound through war, separation, rebuilding, the colonial era, and finally into myths and legends like Badang and the Singapore Stone. Somehow, history felt far less intimidating when it was presented like this. Layered, fluid, and easy to follow.

The sound design stood out to me, pulling its weight in the entire immersive experience. It moved in step with the visuals, never jarring or overwhelming. When the visuals turned sombre, the music softened. When things lifted, the soundscape followed. It struck a good balance and felt especially friendly for children, or for anyone whose attention span usually clocks out during traditional museum exhibits (me).

It was also at this point that we finally realised our wristbands weren’t just decorative. Each RFID-enabled band unlocked a digital companion inspired by Singapore’s native fauna, designed to follow you through the exhibition and trigger interactive moments along the way. The colours weren’t just for fun either. Orange represented the Sky, green the Land, and blue the Sea.

Tricia went with green and landed a land creature. I picked orange and got a sky companion. At first, it didn’t quite register that the Banded Langur floating beside Tricia and the Hornbill trailing me along the walls were ours. It only clicked when more creatures started appearing with the crowd as the space filled up. Crabs, turtles, otters, swordfish. Suddenly, it felt like we were on a pilgrimage together.

One detail we learnt later made it even better. Some animations only unlock when different coloured wristbands come together. Consider this a nudge to explore with friends, or at the very least, not all pick the same colour. Digging a little deeper, we also found out that the companions are meant to quietly spark awareness about Singapore’s ecosystems and biodiversity.

3. Cylindrical Drum – Ripples of the Past

The transition into the third act felt almost seamless. At the base of the ramp, we stepped into a 360-degree cylindrical space showcasing a towering digital waterfall that shifted across different backdrops of historical Singapore that we are largely unfamiliar with, but got the chance to immerse ourselves in. Each time we moved closer to the screens, the water parted to reveal portals into these scenes, as if the space was responding to our presence.

Even the floor joined in. With every step, the LED ground rippled beneath our feet, instantly bringing teamLab’s Future World at ArtScience Museum to mind. It delivers a similar sense of wonder, except it is rooted firmly in local stories and collaborations.

4. Transition Zone – A Poetic Farewell

The journey comes full circle in the final zone. A long digital screen projects a poetic retelling of the myth of Pauh Janggi and the Crab, alongside other local legends. Visitors are invited to scan their wristbands at a station and release their companions in a symbolic farewell. One by one, the creatures fade into the projection and begin to roam freely around the screen. A giant crab then awakens and the stories loop once more, closing the experience on a gentle, reflective note rather than a dramatic finale.

As it was the last act, we lingered a little longer and simply observed our surroundings. Kids darted across the space, excitedly tapping their wristbands and chasing animations on the screen. Middle-aged visitors stood quietly, phones held up, capturing moments they wanted to remember.

It was striking to see how seamlessly technology bridged generations here. Playful enough for children, visually rich for adults, and thoughtful enough to hold everyone in between. In that moment, it became clear that Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time isn’t about telling history differently. It’s about meeting visitors where they are, with the collaboration of technology, artistry and research. Whether you’re there to play, to learn, or to be immersed, the exhibition makes space for all of it.

When we finally emerged, we realised two things. One, we enjoyed this exhibition. Two, it was absolutely pouring outside. The storm we’d dismissed earlier had arrived in full force. The kind that makes you stop in your tracks and reconsider all your life choices, including not bringing an umbrella. Clearly, leaving was no longer an option, we pivoted. Hard.

And just like that, we’d accidentally turned it into a guide to spending a rainy afternoon at the National Museum of Singapore.

Our first stop on this rain-induced detour was the museum shop. There were books you could press to play music, colourful erasers laid out like a bento menu (yes, a literal eraser bento), and objects that made you forget you were technically just waiting for the rain to stop.

The musical books, in particular, completely enchanted Tricia. She spent a good ten minutes flipping pages, pressing buttons, and holding them up to her ear like they were whispering secrets.

Somewhere between all the button-pressing and eraser-admiring, the steady patter of rain against the windows reminded us that we were in no rush. Since general admission was free, we decided to make full use of it and duck into the temporary exhibition, Once Upon a Tide: Singapore’s Journey from Settlement to Global City, before heading off.

Once Upon a Tide: Singapore’s Journey from settlement to global city

If Singapore Odyssea felt poetic and atmospheric,  this one leaned denser, more informational, but still incredibly accessible.

The exhibition traces Singapore’s journey from its early beginnings to the global city it is today, weaving together cross-media elements, physical artefacts, and interactive stations throughout, designed to invite participation rather than passive observation.

There was undoubtedly more information to take in, yet it never felt overwhelming. Children bounced between hands-on activities and touchscreens, while adults lingered over stories and artefacts, absorbing everything at their own pace.

One section that especially stood out for Tricia was Flows of People, which featured audio recordings of migrants sharing their stories in different languages and dialects, complete with subtitles. Sitting in the listening pods and hearing these voices side by side felt surreal. It was a gentle reminder of how many lives, languages, and journeys make up the Singapore we know today. A small but heartening bonus was seeing children sit through these stories too, the message naturally passing on to the next generation.

There were moments of unexpected nostalgia for me, too. Seeing Joseph Schooling’s Olympic gold-winning swim, alongside his autographed competition trunks, instantly took me back to that afternoon when my entire class collectively abandoned O’Levels revision just to watch history unfold live. It didn’t feel distant or archival. It felt personal, and oddly recent.

What surprised me most was the quiet sense of pride that crept in. Watching tourists pause, read, and take it all in, marvelling at how far this tiny nation has come, was unexpectedly heartening. The thought that one day, we too will become part of this timeline lingered at the back of my mind.

Maybe that’s what museums are really for. Not just preserving the past, but gently reminding us that we’re already part of it — still moving, still becoming.

The everyday objects of the past, such as uniforms, clothing, toys from different eras, also made the past feel tangible in a way textbooks never quite manage. It’s one thing to read about history. It’s another to stand inches away from what people once lived in.

What began as a plan to see a single exhibition had quietly stretched into an entire afternoon of wandering, listening, playing, and reflecting.

Looking back, that felt like the real win. Between the unique immersive storytelling of Singapore Odyssea and the more grounded, object-led narrative of Once Upon a Tide, the museum showed how history doesn’t have to be distant or intimidating. It can be fun and interactive for anyone and everyone.

And maybe that’s the beauty of getting caught in the rain. Sometimes, all it takes is a little bad weather to change your plans to stumble into more stories you didn’t know you needed.

📍93 Stamford Rd, Singapore 178897

🎟️ Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time @ L2 (Permanent)

🎟️ Once Upon a Tide: Singapore's Journey from Settlement to Global City @ B1 (until 9 Oct 2026)