Wow.

If you were at the National Museum of Singapore on Nov 27 and felt like you’re in a different place, you’re not alone.

The first instalment of “I Love Museums” showed about 1000 unique patrons just what an awesome time Explore Singapore! could show them.

I Love Museums made its debut on Nov 27 as part of Explore Singapore! 2009 in its fourth season.

Organised by the National Heritage Board, it aims to create a congenial atmosphere for the patrons –the youth in particular, to fall in love once again with museums. UrbanWire snooped around the National Museum of Singapore to find out what’s abuzz.

What kept them coming

Cheery cherry balloons and colourful stalls spread over a distance greeted me as I stepped into the National Museum of Singapore. The event started off with a full photography workshop led by Mr Lim Seng Tiong at 10.30 am. This writer tried to squeeze a seat into the workshops but she was politely directed to the other stations, as the workshops were fully booked.

Unfortunately for her, the other 2 workshops, namely the wine appreciation workshop headed by wine maestro Mr Edwin Soon, and the chocolate appreciation workshop with Valrhona chocolate guru, Mr Vincent Bourdin,  were sold out too.

Mr Edwin Soon is a qualified oenologist from Roseworthy College, Adelaide University, Australia’s renowned wine school. In addition, he has also contributed as an editor to several wine magazines such as Wine and Dine and Harpers Bazaar.

Mr Vincent Bourdin on the other hand, is currently a chef instructor with Shermay’s Cooking School. He established the Valrhona Regional Representative Office for Asia Pacific in Singapore in 1996 and was the co-founder of the Asian Pastry Cup Board.

Sharon Ng, 21, exclaimed, “We’re (her boyfriend and her) so lucky to get places in all the workshops! Workshops with experts don’t come with such affordable prices or free even!”

Claire Tan, 18, who only managed to get into the chocolate appreciation workshop, was disgruntled that she only managed to get into 1 of the 3 workshops offered. However, she declared that the I Love Museums organisers did a good job with the rest of the activities, having been thoroughly entertained.

Fortunately, the disappointment for the patrons who missed a chance at the workshops was kept at bay. The other stations were ready gave them an interesting line up to choose an activity from.

Booths such as Cultural Chic! gave patrons a chance to try on and take a photo in costumes from various cultures. Love Pictionary challenges that took place at hourly intervals soon filled the spacious auditorium with shouts of delight from participants.

Ms Wong having a ball at the museum

Ms Arnette Wong, 23, who was trying on a Mexican costume, said of the booth, “This is so awesome! You could try on any audacious costumes and not feel silly! I also like the little quizzes they give us in the goodie bags! Good knowledge titbits!”

Other than the quizzes, they were also invited to tweet on their Twitter page about their day at the museum. Vocal group VoCollision was also present to serenade the crowd with acapella performances.

Ms Ng tweeting about her day at the museum

But what garnered the most attention had to be the chance to bring back mementos such as calligraphy of their name or a caricature sketch of themselves. Headed by Ms Jessie Ren and Mr Kamal Dollah, the booths were popular and had inexhaustible queues.

Although it rained cats and dogs halfway through the events, those who came had a great time.

Ms Gim Ng, 23, said “This is my first visit to the museum and I am pleasantly surprised that the event was youth-friendly. The museum is also a great peaceful place to hang out at!”

Having said that, she felt that this event could’ve done better if the stations were spread throughout both levels of the museum to allow the patrons a chance to reacquaint themselves with the museum.

Ms Steffi Sim, 19, who found out about the event through its Facebook page added, “There’s a really big potential for this event but it’s scale for the event is a lot smaller than what I’ve expected.”

Ms Christine , 20, added that “the execution and marketing efforts” using new media such as Twitter and Facebook “was smart cause we’re (youth) are always on it”.

In addition to that, she also echoed the thoughts of all the previous interviewees on looking towards museum as a new place to explore and hang out at.

The next instalment of I Love Museums is tentatively set in Feb 2010.