LKCNHM5 e-Celebrations
On 5 September 2020, we celebrated our fifth anniversary since our official opening on 18 April 2015 virtually with a line-up of web-talks by our research and education staff.
For more information on the LKCNHM5 e-Celebrations event highlights, read our post here, or watch all the videos from the event here.
Delightful Daisies
By Dr Gwynne Lim, Research Fellow
We are surrounded by daisies of the family Asteraceae in our everyday lives, from plucky weeds that run rampant, to delicious ingredients in our dishes, and useful species that enrich our lives with their beauty and functionality. Not only are they beautiful as ornamental houseplants, they can be edible and useful in the medicinal and agricultural industries.
This web-talk covers the key characteristic that unites all daisies, and a demonstration of a home dissection of some common roadside daisies you might have seen, especially during the circuit breaker period. You can create your own home flower observation and dissection set-up with just household items, and even an affordable portable microscope.
Fireflies: The Untold Stories
By Dr Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh, Research Fellow
Singapore is home to more than 10 species of fireflies, yet the most common response to whether these enigmatic critters can be found in our little island is “really meh?” In this web-talk, 9 most commonly-asked questions about fireflies are answered, while revealing five cool things you probably did not know about fireflies in Singapore.
Check out this video in which Dr Wan answers the top 5 burning questions about fireflies, co-produced by her entomologist friends.
Read also Dr Wan’s article here on our website on how her passion for fireflies led her to Leiden, the Netherlands, where she trawled through the vast collections of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in search of firefly specimens from our region.
Fantastic mini-Beasts & Where to Find Them
By Mr Foo Maosheng, Entomologist and Curator of Tissues in Cryogenic Collection
Ever wondered what kind of mini-beasts could you be sharing your homes, neighbouring parks, nature ways, and even community gardens with? Get to know the beautiful, the elusive, the helpful and even the “uninvited guests” around us. With heart full of wonder, a pair of keen eyes and patient close observation, you can uncover an entire bustling world of insects!
Thereafter, hop over to our Biodiversity of Singapore (BOS) website to identify the insects you have seen.
Museum Milestones
By the Outreach and Education Unit (OEU)
Walk down memory lane as we reminisce our museum’s history and achievements. Over the past five eventful years, we have continued to advance our collective knowledge about the biodiversity of Southeast Asia through expeditions and research. We have also established lasting relationships with partner institutes that bore many fruits, with collaborations that saw us venture into the deep waters of the Indian Ocean, journey through 200 years of natural history connections with French naturalists, and more!
Meanwhile, our staff developed educational programmes and modules for visitors and NUS students, all while expanding our collections and bringing new exhibitions in our gallery for our visitors and members. Wish that you can revisit the highlights our past exhibitions? You can now indulge yourself in tales of a giant crocodile in Air Tenang, the curious phenomenon of crabs lighting the entire Christmas Island RED once every year, to the mythological creatures coming Out of the Water on our website here.
