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27/08/04
13:12 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #1: I'm saving one of
my favourite places for last :-) The RMBR has its origins in the Raffles
Museum which was founded in 1849 by Raffles himself. Some of us old
enough will remember the bones of the whale that was suspended in
the middle of the old museum. In the 70's, it was decided to remove
the natural history elements from our National Museum, and these precious
specimens moved from hand to hand until they finally found a home
at the National University of Singapore. Btw, the whale skeleton is
now at the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. |
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27/08/04
13:18 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #2: The RMBR only found
the manpower, space and money to start a public gallery in 2001. It
has several sections. One of them showcases the wondrous biodiversity
of our wild places. I met this doctoral student from Israel visiting
the gallery. |
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27/08/04
13:19 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #3: The display includes
specimens of our flora. Here are some of Singapore's favourite fruits!
But these are wild species which are probably not as tasty as the
ones we will kill for. |
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27/08/04
13:20 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #4: There are also lots
of colourful photos and interesting details about our very own plants.
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27/08/04 13:21
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #5: As well as colourful
specimens of our little residents. Often overlooked or now rare
because of development.
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27/08/04
13:22 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #6: There is of course
a section on my favourite creatures. These don't look as happy as
the beautiful living specimens that are still found on our shores.
Many of these specimens were taken just before our shores were reclaimed.
It is sad when all our children will see of their shores is such specimens.
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27/08/04 13:22 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #7: This beautiful
large sponge was retrieved before the entire Pulau Seringat was buried
for reclamation. Seringat was one of our richest reefs and lies just
off Kusu Island. It was reclaimed to develop hotels and other tourist
activities in the Southern Islands. |
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27/08/04
13:23 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #8: There are of course
specimens of our native mammals too. This include the porcupine! The
animals are preserved in this elongated posture to for more efficient
storage. Space in precisely controlled temperature and humidity enviroments
is at a premium. |
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27/08/04
13:24 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #9: There is also a
display of several samples of the same species (here it's the Prevost's
Squirrel) collected from several places and over a long period of
time (over hundreds of years as the RMBR includes specimens collected
by Raffles himself). Such sampling shows the variation over time and
space. |
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27/08/04
13:25 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #10: Not all the specimens
in the Gallery are dead! There are tanks of living specimens. Here
are some of our colourful native freshwater fishes. |
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27/08/04
13:26 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #11: And another tank
of our intertidal fishes. There is a perky little goby in the centre
of the tank, a bit too small for camera phone. |
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27/08/04
13:27 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #12: There is also a
section on the various tropical habitats including rainforest, mangroves,
and here...the tropical coral reefs. There are explanations and specimens
to give you a glimpse of the richness of these habitats. |
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27/08/04
13:28 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #13: One of my favourite
sections is the one on crabs. Here is the enormous and fantastic Japanese
spider crab with legs that can span 4m! And lots of other stories
and specimens of these fascinating creatures. |
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27/08/04
13:29 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #14: Oops, sorry, THIS
is my favourite section. It showcases some of the creatures we may
not realise were and are still found in our wild |
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27/08/04
13:30 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #15: ...the wild boar,
tapir and leopard. In the top left corner is the preserved specimen
of the Banded Leaf Monkey. The subspecies found in Singapore is unique
to Singapore. Just yesterday, Zeehan saw some of them in our Central
Nature Reserve! |
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27/08/04
13:31 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #16: And WOW! There's
a section on our Southern Shores! With my photos there! Indeed, my
dearest hope (and that of the RMBR as well) is that our Southern Shores
will be saved and that our children will not have to go to the museum
to see what's left of it in dead and pickled specimens. |
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27/08/04 13:32 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #17: There
is a section on conservation and the key issues related to it, in
particular the wildlife trade. Education and raising public awareness
is one of the RMBR's objectives. |
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27/08/04
13:33 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #18: RMBR is primarily
a research museum. Specimens are treasured by researchers from all
over the world. RMBR researchers do research in and survey areas not
only Singapore but the Asia-Pacific region. They have links with scientists
from 25 universities, museums and research institutes. |
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27/08/04
13:34 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #20: Education is an
important element of the RMBR's work and the museum conducts workshops
for teachers and students, public lectures and school talks and contribute
to educational publications. RMBR staff are also active in guiding
and guide training in our wild places. |
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27/08/04
13:35 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #21: RMBR staff undertake
a lot of expeditions to better understand the natural habitats in
Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region. RMBR staff are not desk-bound
folks working only with dusty specimens. They are great outdoors folks
and excellent field specialists too. Some appear happier knee-deep
in mud than anywhere else. |
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27/08/04
13:36 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #22: There is a "New
Discoveries" section which features among other the coelacanth (pronounced
see-la-kanth...don't ask me why). Discovered in an Indonesian fish
market, this fish was earlier thought long extinct!! |
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27/08/04
15:10 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research #23 (last): There are
other sections but it's getting late. I surprised these shy science
undergrads who were enjoying the display during lunch time. The RMBR
conducts guided tours of the public gallery for school groups as well
as the public. For more information see http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/ |
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