Presentation Of An Exhibition “The More We Get Together: Singapore’s Playgrounds 1930 – 2030” By The Singapore National Museum
“The More We Get Together: Singapore’s Playgrounds 1930 – 2030” is the very first extensive exhibition developed by the Singapore National Museum, in collaboration with the Housing and Development. The curators, Rachel Eng, and Wong Hong Suen worked together for over 16 months to give a narration that explores the past, present and the future playground themes. They help us to uncover more stories and artifacts and help us understand the planning of the whole exhibition. The title of the exhibition is on a nursery rhyme 'The More We Get Together'. People of all ages can participate in the 100 years of Singapore's playground journey which started from 20th April 2018 and ended at 30th September 2018.
This exhibition had a total of four vignettes viz Singapore's Early Playground, Playing in the Neighbourhood HDB playgrounds, Making Fun and Safe Playgrounds and Our Playgrounds, Our Future. The exhibition also includes other activities such as a mosaic memory wall for visitors to imagine their favorite playground memory and participation in the survey. Young visitors attending the museum can also enjoy the sandpit and climbing the rope pyramid. It also has an outdoor extension where there are inflatables bouncy castles and 'Springy' animal rides. The Inflatables bouncy castle is only available on the first weekend of the opening, 20th - 22nd April.
The aim to choose this exhibition is to explore the definition of playgrounds over the years regarding its physical boundaries and equipment. But the most significant reason was due to its "culture and history" aspect it holds in society. Secondly, the concept of the exhibition encouraged us to look ahead as it promotes the individual to be imaginative and build up curiosity for an ideal future playground. Even though a lot of history is revealed and presented to the audience, the exhibition design still encourages the visitors to participate in all segments. It aims them to access questions of what and how they relate to our playground throughout their lives. We also chose this exhibition as it is exceedingly relatable to the design process where concept and the site represent the design, allowing us to be more attentive of how it can affect the identity and the environment of the society. Additionally, the wanting to follow play invites the sense of intrigue and fun which leads to more dynamic learning, which further benefits the subjects.
Moreover, as Singapore’s population is expanding, there will be increased competition for the limited amount of space left in Singapore. Hence, it will allow us in questioning about giving up land for future playgrounds. But due to the drastically changing timeline, from slides to Wallhola (vertical playground) to air zone (playground in mid-air) and as we approach towards the future, the designs of playground have become more innovative and inclusive. It likewise permits us to believe that the future playground does not embrace a particular concept. Hence, this inspires us to be more creative, to construct the future playground designs even though there are restraints and instructions to be followed.
