The Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at NUS is having an open house in conjunction with Singapore celebrates International Museum Day 2008 on the 31st May 2008. Come for this rare opportunity to view Singapore's natural history. Find out more about the past and current biodiversity of Singapore. Some of the sections include:
Curious as to why the Museum is named so, and what does it do? Wondering what is Biodiversity, and why the need to study it?
A showcase of Surprising Singapore: Despite Singapore being a small island and highly urbanised, she plays host to many spectacular animals, including dugongs, turtles, pangolins and more. Even tigers once roamed her land.
Ranging from the Frigate Bird of Christmas Island to the Babirusa of Sulawesi to the Proboscis Monkeys of Borneo, this small section displays some of the animals found in Southeast Asia.
Things people eat: Feel like having some delicacies? Traditional Chinese Medicine? Health boosters? This section shows various types of food that we consume, which comes from interesting sources.
Conservation Issues: Our rich biodiversity of fauna and flora is constantly in struggle for survival, very much due to the acts of humans. Pollution, habitat destruction, over-exploitation and wildlife trade and collection are some examples. If we do not stop this trend, perhaps a 7th mass extinction could be underway and we are the cause of it. This section highlights the importance of conservation.
Raffles the Naturalist: Other than being the founder of Modern Singapore, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles is also known as an avid naturalist. This section reveals some of his work in the early days, when he described the fauna and flora of Southeast Asia during his stinct in the region.
More details on the RMBR news blog
Time: 10am-8pm
Venue: The National University of Singapore, Faculty of Science, Science Drive 2, Block S6, Level 3
Directions on how to get there on the RMBR website
with link to map
Website: http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/public_gallery/public_gallery.html
Contact: 6516-5082 or greasi@nus.edu.sg
