Semangat yang Baru: Forging a New Singapore Spirit

21 Apr 2023 - 29 Oct 2023

Basement,
Exhibition Gallery 1

10am - 7pm

Free admission for Citizens & Permanent Residents

Come, let us unite in a new spirit.
Marilah kita bersatu dengan semangat yang baru.

All Singaporeans know these words from the chorus of “Majulah Singapura”, our national anthem. The Semangat yang Baru: Forging a New Singapore Spirit exhibition captures the courage and dynamism of our early years, when the leaders and people of Singapore rallied together to build our fledgling nation between the 1950s and 1970s.

Explore lesser-known dilemmas that our founding generation faced as we boldly strove to build a society based on justice and equality. Guided by our foundational values of multiculturalism, integrity and openness, we confronted pressing questions of: What do we stand for? How do we move forward? Who could we be as a people?

Just as the Singapore spirit was born out of adversity over 50 years ago, this special exhibition presented by the Founders’ Memorial and National Museum of Singapore asks the question, what does semangat yang baru – the new spirit – mean to us today?

Look forward to an exciting array of programmes such as Behind the Scenes Curator tours, interactive bus tours, film-screenings and more. Look out also for programmes where you get to share your stories and take part in conversations that will help shape the Founders’ Memorial.

Bus Tours to Semangat yang Baru

18 June – 22 October | Various Locations | Various Dates
$5 per pax. A minimum of 35 pax will be needed to confirm the tour.

What was it like to be part of a young nation finding its way in the 1950s - 1970s? Why did we invite foreign companies to set up factories here, or build high-rise public housing on such a large scale? How did our multiracial society find a common voice in spite of our different cultures? Come face to face with these challenges encountered by Singapore’s leaders and people during our early nation-building years, at the Semangat yang Baru: Forging a New Singapore Spirit exhibition.

Your trip includes:

• An interactive guided tour by lively story-tellers at the National Museum of Singapore
• Return transport
• A free goody bag with snacks

Please visit go.gov.sg/sybbustour for list of dates, pick up locations, and to purchase your tickets!

LKY 100: Life and Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew (1923-2015)

This year makes the 100^th anniversary of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's birth. To commemorate our Founding Prime Minister's life and contributions to Singapore, the National Museum of Singapore and the Founders’ Memorial will be launching a digital trail spanning the Semangat yang Baru: Forging a New Singapore Spirit exhibition and the post-war Singapore section of the Singapore History Gallery.

Visitors are invited to embark on a digital trail to find out more about Mr Lee’s legacy, the values he embodied in his life and career, and how his ideas and actions shaped the path of our nation.

Student Resource

Journey through the exhibition with this activity booklet designed for students aged 13 and up. Better understand the challenges and opportunities faced by a newly independent Singapore, reflect on the core values that guided decision making and the evolution of a new Singapore spirit in the 1950s to 1970s, and consider how our founding values remain relevant to Singapore society today.

This booklet was developed in consultation with the Academy of Singapore Teachers and MOE Humanities Branch. Covering themes of citizenship, identity, and integration, it is suitable for use in learning journeys for Social Studies, Lower Secondary History, and Character & Citizenship Education.

You may download the e-copy of the Student Resource here.

Presented by

Family Time

Visit our permanent galleries with your little ones and play spot-the-artefact! Our colourful Early Learning Resources introduce pre-schoolers to our artefacts according to the themes of Numbers, Colours, and ABCs. Available at $8 per set from the Museum Label shop. For more children's activity booklets, click here.

Museum guide

Download our museum guide (English, Chinese, Bahasa Melayu, Tamil) to find out about the many treasures in our various galleries. In this guide, you will also find the floor plan for easier navigation. Enjoy your visit!

From food to performing arts, Southeast Asia’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is an important link to our past and intrinsic to our rich cultural identity. To pay homage to the time-honoured traditions and living expressions that define and connect us across the region, the National Museum of Singapore and the Maybank Foundation will be presenting a series of four original video artworks on the Museum’s LED Wall that showcase creative contemporary responses to the theme of intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

LED Wall