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Museum History

Our Story

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

15 Decades × 15 Snippets

1870s

28 March 1874

A faded black and white photograph taken between 1864 and 1872 showing the Town Hall (which is now the Victoria Memorial Theatre).

Earliest Natural History on Display

The Raffles Library and Museum begins life at the Town Hall (now the Victoria Memorial Theatre) with natural history specimens soon being put on display.
1880s

12 October 1887

A faded black and white photograph of the Raffles Library and Museum building at Stamford Road. The photograph was taken between 1895 and 1901 by Karl Richard Hanitsch who oversaw the Museum at the time.

A Purpose-Built Home

At five o’clock in the afternoon, the Raffles Library and Museum building opens at Stamford Road.
1890s

December 1883 onwards

A photograph, in black and white, published in 1908 showing one of the natural history galleries in Raffles Library and Museum at Stamford Road. The Malacca whale is suspended from the ceiling and surrounded by large specimens of crocodiles and turtles.

Iconic Specimens in the Making

The Museum acquires and exhibits several large specimens that become icons: the Siglap turtle (1883), the Serangoon crocodile (1887) and the Malacca whale (1892).
1900s

December 1908

The cover of the ‘Guide to the Zoological Collections of the Raffles Museum’ written by Karl Richard Hanitsch and published in 1908.

First Guide to the Museum

The ‘Guide to the Zoological Collections of the Raffles Museum’ appears with many illustrations of the galleries and specimens.
1910s

February 1910

A photograph, in black and white, published in 1908 of the central rotunda of the Raffles Museum and Library with a tiger in a glass case on prominent display at the centre.

Project Museum Makeover

The Museum completes an expansion (a new wing) and a revamp of its galleries. Visitors entering the museum are greeted by a tiger – this sight gives rise to the Museum’s nickname of “Rumah Rimau” (which means Tiger’s House in Malay).
1920s

September 1928

The cover of the first issue of the ‘Bulletin of the Raffles Museum’ published in September 1928.

First Scientific Publication

The Museum launches the ‘Bulletin of the Raffles Museum’ to publish results of scientific research conducted in connection with the Museum. The journal is still published today as the ‘Raffles Bulletin of Zoology’ .
1930s

7 February 1933

A photograph published in 1932 of the cable ship ‘The Cable’ at sea. This ship was used for laying and bringing up telegraph cables which were encrusted with marine organisms. Raffles Library and Museum curator Michael Wilmer Forbes Tweedie collected some of these animals for the Museum.

The Museum Goes to Sea

The Museum’s curator joins a ship CS ‘The Cable’ to study and collect marine biodiversity that is brought up when repairing telegraph cables. Today, the Museum continues to collaborate on marine expeditions in Singapore and the region.
1940s

1940s

A black and white photograph showing six different birds living on Christmas Island. The photograph was taken by Carl Alexander Gibson-Hill who was based on the island and collected specimens.

A Christmas Island Presence

Another museum curator spends time on Christmas Island (in the Indian Ocean) where he collects birds and other animals. The Museum continues to conduct research on the island.
1950s

1953

Three slides of snakes that were used in the book ‘The Snakes of Malaya’, published in 1953 by Michael Wilmer Forbes Tweedie who was director of the Museum at the time. They show (from left to right): Wagler’s pit viper, elegant bronzeback and Malayan pit viper.

‘The Snakes of Malaya'

This 1953 book written and illustrated by the Museum’s director embodies the endeavour to document, photograph and disseminate biodiversity information. This continues with Museum initiatives such as our books, Biodiversity of Singapore and SIGNIFY.
1960s

21 November 1960

Visitors taking an interest in a glass display case of the natural history specimens at the Stamford Road building, possibly during the 1950s or 1960s.

Raffles becomes National

The Raffles Museum is renamed the National Museum. The library had already split off a few years before to form the National Library.
1970s

1972

These storage boxes containing the animal specimens that were moved out of the National Museum in 1972.

Leaving Stamford Road

The zoological collections move out from the National Museum building to the institution today known as the National University of Singapore.
1980s

31 October 1988

The two photographs show compactors shelving with jars of specimens: fish on the left, snakes on the right.

Opening of the Zoological Reference Collection

The Collection (re)opens in the Faculty of Science at the University and becomes an important research resource for regional biodiversity.
1990s

Late 1990s

The image on the left depicts the mascot of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, inspired by an Asian Palm Civet. The image on the right shows the public gallery at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, with specimens on display.

The Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research

The Zoological Reference Collection changes its name, to reflect its growing involvement in outreach and research activities. A public gallery opens a few years later. Outreach, education and research continue to be an integral part of the Museum.
2000s

Late 2000s

Three dinosaurs on display in the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum’s public gallery.

Public support

The Museum receives overwhelming support and funds to build a new home with much bigger spaces for public galleries. Soon three dinosaurs join the Museum through a separate fundraising campaign.
2010s

18 April 2015

The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum building that opened to the public on 18 April 2015. The design was inspired by a rock with moss growing on its side (in the form of native trees and plants growing off one of its side)

A Purpose-Built Home

The new Museum building opens at 2 Conservatory Drive—a home for our nation’s natural history.

Sources of Information

Low MEY & Pocklington K (2019) 200: Points in Singapore’s Natural History. With an Exordium by Peter K. L. Ng. Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Singapore, xiii + 607 pp. 

Tan KYL (2015) Of Whales and Dinosaurs: The Story of Singapore’s Natural History Museum. NUS Press, Singapore, xxii + 265 pp.

Image Credits

1870s: “Court House. Singapore” (ca. 1864–1872). Courtesy of Open Content Program, The J. Paul Getty Museum.

1880s: “The Raffles Library and Museum” (1895). Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board. Gift of Sam Kai Faye.

1890s: “The Indian whale (Balaenoptera indica)”. From ‘Guide to the Zoological Collections of the Raffles Museum, Singapore’ (Singapore: Straits Times Press, Limited, 1908, pl. 7). Image kindly provided by National University of Singapore Libraries’ History, Culture and Heritage Collections.

1900s: Cover of ‘Guide to the Zoological Collections of the Raffles Museum, Singapore’ (Singapore: Straits Times Press, Limited, 1908, pl. 2). Image kindly provided by National University of Singapore Libraries’ History, Culture and Heritage Collections.

1910s: “Entrance Hall” (ca. 1908). From ‘Guide to the Zoological Collections of the Raffles Museum, Singapore’ (Singapore: Straits Times Press, Limited, 1908, pl. 2). Image kindly provided by National University of Singapore Libraries’ History, Culture and Heritage Collections.

1920s: Cover of ‘Bulletin of the Raffles Museum’ (Singapore: Government Printing Office, 1928, vol. 1). Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore.

1930s: “‘The Cable.’ A cable repair-ship. 1924” (1924). From ‘A Shipbuilding History, 1750–1932: A Record of the Business Founded, About 1750, by Alexander Stephen at Burghead, and Subsequently Carried on at Aberdeen, Arbroath, Dundee and Glasgow’ (London: Alexander Stephens and Sons Limited, London, 1932, p. 126). Biodiversity Histories Image Collection, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore.

1940s: “Birds of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean”. From ‘Bulletin of the Raffles Museum’ (Singapore: Government Printing Office, 1947, vol. 18, pl. 7). Image kindly provided by National University of Singapore Libraries’ History, Culture and Heritage Collections.

1950s: Slides used in for ‘Snakes of Malaya’ (Singapore: Government Printing Office, 1953). Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore.

1960s: “Interior view of the National Museum” (1950s–1970s). Collection of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board.

1970s: “Nanyang University storage cabinets” (ca. 1970s). Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore.

1980s: “Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC) specimen shelves”. Courtesy of Yip Hoi Kee.

1990s: “Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) mascot” and “Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) public gallery”. Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore.

2000s: “Dinosaurs in LKCNHM gallery”. Courtesy of Teo Zi Tong.

2010s: “Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum” (2015). Courtesy of James Tan.

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© Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum,
National University of Singapore. All Rights Reserved

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