Science Centre Singapore, previously known as the Singapore Science Centre, is a science-themed attraction in

Jurong East Jurong East is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential town situated in the West Region, Singapore, West Region of Singapore. It borders Jurong West and Boon Lay to the west, Clementi, Singapore, Cl ...

, Singapore, specialising in the promotion of scientific and technological education for the general public. It houses over 850 exhibits over eight exhibition galleries and receives over a million visitors every year. In 2003, it celebrated its

silver jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

History

Evening aerial view of the Singapore Science Centre - 20050926

The Science Centre was carved out of the

National Museum of Singapore The National Museum of Singapore is a public museum dedicated to Singaporean art, culture and history. Located within the country's Civic District at the Downtown Core area, it is the oldest museum in the country, with its history dating back to ...

as a separate institution so that the latter could focus on its artistic and historical collections. This idea was first mooted in 1969 by the former Science Council of Singapore, now known as the

Agency for Science, Technology and Research The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore. The agency supports R&D that is aligned to areas of competitive advantage and national needs for Singapor ...

(A*Star), and was approved by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. The SCS building's design was decided by an

architectural competition An architectural competition is a type of design competition, in which an entity that intends to build new work, or is just seeking ideas, invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning scheme is usually chosen by an independent panel ...

organised by the Science Centre Board, in which Raymond Woo architects' entry was selected. Built at a cost of S$12 million on a site in

, it was officially opened on 10 December 1977 by Dr.

Toh Chin Chye Toh Chin Chye ( zh, s=杜进才, p=Dù Jìncái, poj=Tō͘ Chìn-châi; 10 December 1921 – 3 February 2012) was a Singaporean statesman and academic who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1968. Toh is widely ...

, the Minister-in-charge of the centre. In 1987, the centre saw a significant expansion with the opening of Singapore's first and only OMNIMAX theatre, the Omni-Theatre. Costing $18 million, it has a 276-seat theatre underneath a tilted dome. In 1999, a $38 million renovation expanded the centre's exhibition space with larger open areas, a direct connection to the separate Omni-Theatre building, as well as a new entrance. In 2000,

Snow City Snow City is Singapore's first indoor snow center located within the Science Centre Singapore area, beside the Omni-Theatre in Jurong East. Background The 3,000 square-meter center Snow City was built at the cost of S$6 million and was offici ...

, a recreation of a environment in tropical Singapore, was set up beside the Omni-Theatre. On 7 December 2007, in its 30th anniversary year, the centre rebranded itself as the Science Centre Singapore (SCS).

Relocation

On 4 April 2008, the

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National De ...

announced plans to relocate the Science Centre next to

Chinese Garden MRT station Chinese Garden MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East–West line (EWL) in Jurong East, Singapore. Operated by SMRT Trains, the station serves the eponymous Chinese Garden and the Yuhua residential estate. ...

within ten to 15 years. On 24 May 2019, the Science Centre board awarded a multi-disciplinary team led by Architects 61 a contract for the design of the new Science Centre. At the time, the project was expected to be completed by 2025. The Science Centre commented that the team, which includes

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

architects, submitted the "best proposal which reflected the boldness of scientific endeavour and future focused Stem aspirations". On 2 December 2022, the Science Centre and the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

jointly announced that a new Science Centre would be opened in the

Jurong Lake District Jurong Lake District (JLD) is a district in Singapore, planned as part of Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)’s decentralisation efforts to bring more quality jobs, amenities, and recreational options closer to homes. The plans for the dis ...

in 2027, which is set to be the 50th anniversary of the Science Centre. According to the joint press release, the new Science Centre will be designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and Architects 21, and will consist of 5 interlocking rectangular buildings, each with large glass windows overlooking

Jurong Lake Jurong Lake (; ; ) is a 70ha freshwater lake and reservoir located in the western region of Singapore formed with the damming of Sungei Jurong further downstream. The lake serves as a reservoir contributing to the water supply of the country. I ...

Exhibitions and events

In 2023, the Science Centre held an exhibition featuring art pieces inspired by the Korean pop group BTS as well as props worn by the group's members. The exhibit, named "BTS x

James Jean James Jean (born 1979) is a Taiwanese-American visual artist working primarily in painting and drawing. He lives and works in Los Angeles, where he moved from New York City, New York in 2003. Early life Jean was born in Taiwan and raised in New J ...

: Seven Phases Exhibition", ran from 16 December 2023 until 25 February 2024 at the Science Centre.

Observatory

Location

The Science Centre Observatory is situated at above mean sea level and is one of the few observatories in the world located next to the

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

. Its unique position allows constellations in both the northern and southern celestial hemispheres to be observed.

Telescope

The main telescope of the Observatory is a

Cassegrain reflector The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and Antenna (radio), radio antennas, the main characteristic being that the optical path folds back onto itself, ...

of a combined

focal length The focal length of an Optics, optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the Multiplicative inverse, inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a system Converge ...

of . The sub-telescope is a

apochromatic An apochromat, or apochromatic lens (apo), is a photographic or other lens that has better correction of chromatic and spherical aberration than the much more common achromat lenses. The prefix ''apo-'' comes from the Greek preposition ''ἀ ...

Kepler refractor A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses and as ...

with a focal length of . The

equatorial mount An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that compensates for Earth's rotation by having one rotational axis, called ''polar axis'', parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescope mount, tel ...

for the telescopes was designed for Singapore's unique location; the accompanying English yoke provides the stability needed for the drive and tracking mechanisms. The stainless steel dome can be made to swivel in any direction and its shutter can be made to slide open for the telescope to be focused on to interesting objects in the sky.

Stargazing sessions

The Observatory has been open to the public for stargazing sessions every Friday night since June 2006. The opening hours are from 7:50 to 10:00 pm. The Observatory can comfortably accommodate 50 visitors per session. It is important to note that stargazing through the observatory telescope is only possible when the sky is clear. However, regardless of weather conditions, the staff will be present. The Observatory hosted a viewing session for the 20 April 2023

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

from 11am to 1pm. It set up telescopes which were available for use, gratis, for anyone with a Science Centre admission ticket. The eclipse was also livestreamed on the Science Centre's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel.

Controversies

The Science Centre organised a discussion titled "What is the difference between Gender and Sex?" to be held on 14 June 2024 at

The Projector The Projector is an independent cinema in Singapore. Founded in 2014, it specializes in arts-house films and also screens mainstream movies and is a venue for live events such as stand-up comedy shows. The Projector is currently operating a ...

. Attendance at the event was limited to persons aged 18 years old and above. According to the synopsis, the discussion was intended to center around the psychological, social, and cultural factors shaping the understanding of gender and sex in Singapore. On 1 June 2024, several hours after initially publicising the event on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, the Science Centre announced that the event was cancelled and that all tickets would be refunded. According to news reports, a

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

channel named "Protect Singapore", which described itself as "a channel for those who want to safeguard the future of Singapore in the face of LGBTQ+ activism so that Singapore can continue to thrive", had shared the event and requested that its subscribers "write in and express your concern to MOE and The Science Centre".

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1977 establishments in Singapore Jurong East Museums established in 1977 Science and technology in Singapore Scientific organisations based in Singapore Science museums in Singapore