• The National Museum of Singapore (NMS) is managed by the National Heritage Board, and is characterised by its long history and modern innovative exhibitions.
• The predecessor of NMS was a small museum set up in the library of Singapore Institution (now Raffles Institution) in 1849.
• In 1884, the British colonial government started building the museum at its present site of Stamford Road, and it was completed in 1887.
• Before 1960, the library and the museum shared the same building, known as the Raffles Library and Museum. After the relocation of the National Library, the museum was officially renamed as the National Museum.
• The theme of the early exhibits in the Raffles Museum was mainly natural history, and many animal and plant specimens were exhibited. Since 1972, the museum has focused on displaying exhibits related to Singapore’s local history, ethnic communities, arts and culture. In 2006, NMS introduced two permanent exhibitions, the Singapore History Gallery and the Singapore Living Galleries (renamed the Life in Singapore Galleries in 2015), as well as special exhibitions that frequently changed. Visitors to the Singapore History Gallery could learn about the history and development of Singapore from the 14th century to the present day. The Singapore Living Galleries covered life in Singapore as viewed through themes of fashion, film and wayang, food and photography.
• The National Museum was gazetted as a National Monument in 1992.
• From 1993 to 2006, the National Museum was named the Singapore History Museum.
• From 2003 to 2006, the Singapore History Museum underwent large-scale renovations and was renamed the National Museum of Singapore when it reopened in 2006. Today, NMS adopts multi-perspective ways of presenting history and culture, featuring important artefacts that tell the stories of Singapore and the world to redefine the conventional museum experience.

The National Museum of Singapore will commence renovation in stages from the end of this year, with the works expected to be completed in 2025. During this period, the museum will continue to be open to the public. (Lianhe Zaobao, 7/3/2023)