Philatelic Pleasures

One of Singapore's hidden little treasure is this beautiful boutique attraction called the Singapore Philatelic Museum. Tucked away at Coleman Street just below the National Archives of Singapore and Registry of Marriages, the museum is probably one of the few indoor places where you can bring a young child and be entertained for hours.

I brought my family there recently during International Museum Day 2007, and boy we sure had a swell time.

This room of postal rarities shows some of the oddities of postage like bisect stamps, mis-prints and of course the evolution of the postal boxes through the ages. Do you know that stamps with "mistakes" are worth a lot more than those in pristine conditions?

Interactive features like these help to captivate a restless toddler. Here, various artefacts from old Singapore help to tell the story of how traditional life used to be in a "peek-a-boo" fashion.

One of Ethan's perennial favourites is this Chinese drum, which he banged with much aplomb, much to the chagrin of his parents who preferred to preserve the peace in the museum!

Thematic exhibitions like this on Chinese New Year helps to explain the history behind cultural practices using stamps and postal materials as tools.

Hmmm... never knew that there were so many different types of toy post boxes available.

Guided tours at the Philatelic Museum has always attracted a good following. Here is Lily Samuel, a previous Excellent Service Award Superstar winner for the Attractions Category, enthralling a group of mainly young families.

Occasionally, the museum visits different countries from around the world. Here is "An Nyeong Ha Seyo Korea!" which gives a postal perspective of Korean cultures from now until Dec 2007. Notice how brightly decked the entire room is in Korean colours.