Monthly Workshops for Seniors

Every second Tuesday of the month (unless otherwise stated)

Create new mementos and memories with us as you explore our collection and stories through hands-on activities featuring different art forms.

Intergenerational Workshop at Reunion – Heritage Food Series

$40.50 per senior adult-child pair (incl. GST)

Singapore’s food heritage comprises a blend of flavours and traditions from our diverse communities. The cooking methods, whether from local communities or brought here by early settlers, tell stories of home and tradition.

Embark on a gastronomic adventure where seniors and children create local heritage food together at the National Museum of Singapore with the guidance of culinary educators.This Heritage Food Series consists of four workshops,each covering different traditional and multicultural recipes.

In addition to the hands-on cooking and baking sessions, participants will also experience how food history can come alive through guided conversations and Touch Museum artefacts such as tools used in the trade.

Intergenerational Workshop at Reunion – Heritage Food Series, Part 1: Roti Jala and Rojak (10 May 2025)

In this first workshop of the Heritage Food Series, participants will learn to make roti jala, a delicate “net” bread known for its beautiful lacy pattern, and create their own rojak, a colourful local salad that mixes fresh fruits and vegetables with a sweet and tangy sauce.

About the Facilitators

Yeo Min is a pastry chef and author of Chinese Pastry School, an introductory resource covering the basics of Chinese pastry-making, including its history, key techniques, and food science. Previously a social worker in the field of adult protective work, Yeo Min has a deep interest in the potential of heritage food in therapeutic work with seniors.

Emily Yeo stands at the forefront of culinary edutainment in Singapore. She pioneered the wave of culinary programmes among children locally since 2013, and continues to grow and evolve her cooking studio, The Little Things. Using the universal language of food, Emily believes in educating children and families about our heritage and beyond. She is the author of The Little Book of Singapore Food Illustrated.

Experience Reunion Senior-friendly Tours

Every first Saturday of the month. Tour is free but pre-registration is required*

Experience Reunion at the National Museum of Singapore through a facilitated programme for seniors!

Explore the gallery through a conversational tour and discover Reunion, the museum's social space for seniors, with our Care Facilitator volunteers. Engage with the museum's handling objects in the activity area and look forward to creating your own digital exhibition at our Memory Lane immersive interactive experience.

The tours are led by our museum's Care Facilitator volunteers, who are trained to engage with seniors, including persons with dementia. These tours are conversational in nature and their themes vary every month.

*Each registration is for 1 senior (including persons with dementia) and an accompanying caregiver. Standard admission charges to our galleries will apply for non-Singaporeans and non-Permanent Residents.

Gather at Reunion – A Self-Facilitated Programme for Seniors

Groups are welcome to organise self-facilitated senior-/dementia-/Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)-centric activities in the activity space within Reunion. Each self-facilitated programme is 2 hours in duration and will include:

• The use of Memory Lane, an immersive interactive experience for seniors to curate their own digital exhibition and send a copy of their completed exhibition to themselves as a souvenir, and
• Heritage-based resources (e.g. NMS Easy Guides, NHB Conversation Starter Kits) that can be used to spark conversations inspired by artefacts from the National Collection.

Booking must be made with a minimum lead time of 21 days before the intended programme date.

Each programme booking is subject to a minimum capacity of 20 persons and maximum capacity of 50 persons.

For groups comprising fewer than 20 persons, a minimum charge of $218 (inclusive of GST) is applicable based on the minimum capacity of 20 persons.

Meet Me at Reunion

1.5 hours | $16.35/pax

Come and experience Reunion at the National Museum of Singapore through a facilitated programme for seniors!

In this 1.5 hour session, participants will get to enjoy some familiar tunes at the music booths or a conversation while engaging with the museum's handling objects in the activity area. You can also look forward to creating your own digital exhibition with the museum's Care Facilitator volunteers.

This programme is designed for seniors, including those living with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. All seniors living with dementia, or any other additional needs, should be accompanied by a caregiver for the programme. Light refreshments will be provided for all ticket holders.

Booking must be made with a minimum lead time of 1 month before the intended programme date. Each programme booking is subject to a minimum capacity of 8 persons and maximum capacity of 30 persons.

Makan with Seniors

Bi-monthly, see below for upcoming dates and timings
3 hours | Free. Pre-registration is required.

Makan with Seniors is a community initiative started in 2018 by Ms Eleanor Yap, the founder of Ageless Online, aimed at bridging the gap between seniors and youth by encouraging conversations over their favourite meals. With support from the National Museum of Singapore, Makan with Seniors is now offered as a regular bi-monthly programme at the museum's Reunion social space. In each 3-hour session, senior and youth participants will be paired up or grouped together to chat over a meal. Conversations will be facilitated by a "menu" of questions for seniors to answer, ranging from their memories of past events to their growing-up years.

Check this space for updates about the upcoming Makan with Seniors programme.

Sign-ups will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Seniors-Meet-Seniors (SMS) Knowledge Café

Quarterly, see below for upcoming dates and timings
2 hours | Free. Pre-registration is required.

Organised by Thomas Kuan and Carol Kuan, the Singapore chapter of University of Third Age, SMS Knowledge Café is a place where seniors meet to have fun and productive conversations, learn from each other, and make better sense of living in an urban community. The objective of the SMS Knowledge Café is to encourage peer-led discussions and learning in small groups for seniors.

SMS Knowledge Café is supported by the National Museum of Singapore. Check this space for updates about the upcoming SMS Knowledge Café programme.

Seniors Makan with Seniors

Bi-monthly, see below for upcoming dates and timings
2.5 hours | Pre-registration is required

Seniors Makan with Seniors is a spinoff of Makan with Seniors by Eleanor Yap and is organised by seniors for seniors. The programme aims to have seniors come as strangers and leave as friends, to allow for room for conversations. With support from the National Museum of Singapore, Seniors Makan with Seniors is now offered as a regular bi-monthly programme at the museum's Reunion social space. In each 2.5-hour session, senior participants will come together to chat over their self-brought meals. A preselected topic relevant to senior lifestyles and issues will be tabled to stimulate group discussions and individual sharing.

Check this space for updates about the upcoming Seniors Makan with Seniors programme.

Refresh and Reconnect!

Our signature programme offering a non-medical heritage-based intervention for seniors living with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

The 6-week long programme will be held over consecutive weeks and last about 2 hours per session. Each of the 6 sessions will include guided gallery tours led by our museum's Care Facilitator volunteers and artist-led hands-on activities based on various art forms (e.g. music and movement, craft, storytelling) to encourage new learning among participants, while leveraging the museum's collection to spark reminiscing conversations.

Programme Runs in 2025 are part of our ongoing research with Duke-NUS. The runs are currently opened for organised groups/organisations only. Please contact us for more details.

Tea Dance for Seniors

Every first Tuesday of the month
Programme is free but pre-registration is required

Discover the enriching benefits of dancing – engage your muscles, refine your coordination, and foster connections with others. Join us for an afternoon of dance at the Tea Dance for Seniors. Organised by Dementia & Co’s co-founder, Alison Lim, this programme is designed to cater to the needs of persons living with dementia, but it is open to everyone.

Tea Dance for Seniors is supported by the National Museum of Singapore and now offered as a regular monthly programme at the museum’s Reunion social space.

Sign-ups will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Memories Café

Join our dedicated programme for persons with dementia to interact and bond with their caregivers in a safe, supportive and conducive space. Memories Café at Reunion offers a fresh change of environment to caregivers who may have long been attending support groups held in more formal, clinical settings, such as dementia day care centres.

Each Memories Café programme is typically 2 hours long. The first hour focuses on engagement activities such as sing-along sessions and enjoying musical, puppet and drama performances by community artists, volunteers and staff. The second hour is designed for social interaction among persons with dementia, caregivers and customers accompanied by drinks and snacks courtesy of Café Brera.