Peranakan Museum

Continuing my posts on what to do on a hot & sweltering day, here's another suggestion : Peranakan museum. I have always had a soft spot for this one, even though it's not my heritage.

For the benefit of my western friends, Peranakans refer to the descendants of the Chinese traders who in the 19th century had settled in South east Asia & married local women. It's a culture that is still very much alive in Singapore today & combines the best of Chinese & Malay. Present day Peranakans proudly preserve their heritage & the cuisine is one of my favorites.


The building used to be the old Tao Nan school & when I went there for the first time a few years ago, it was the Asian Civilisations Museum. Now it's a small museum devoted to all things Peranakan.


Every aspect of Peranakan lifestyle is comprehensively documented & presented - fashion, food, marriage, death rites etc

I think these intricately beaded covers would be great for mobile phones

This place is extremely child friendly. It's small enough that it won't bore the little ones & there are many show & tell stations (see below) to get them involved. But the most interesting are these stamping machines. At the ticket counter, they will present you with an activity sheet whereby you need to go around the museum to look for these devices to chop 8 different motifs on the sheet. The Girl had so much fun.

I highly recommend this especially if you've never been.


Peranakan Museum
39 Armenian Street