Elephant Stampede and the Latest Exhibits at the Singapore Philatelic Museum
This is my third visit to the Singapore Philatelic Museum. The museum featured 5 current exhibits in addition to their permanent exhibit. Elephant Stampede- which traces the evolution of these giant creatures from mammoth to elephants, their shrinking habitats and the factors which led to their destruction.
It also highlighted the symbolism of elephants in Asian culture and religion- like how some kings reincarnated into elephants and the Hindu God Ganesh which had an half elephant body. The exhibit ended on how we humans can help the elephants in their quest for survival. I enjoyed the interactive session, differentiating elephants from Africa and Asia. African elephants are bigger, have 5 toes and larger ears shaped like Africa while their Asian counterparts are smaller, have 4 toes and ears shaped like India.
I was able to see "Baby Emily", an elephant made of postage stamp designed by local sculptor and artist Mr. Sun Yu-Li. This was in conjunction with the Elephant Parade held in Singapore last year to raise awareness and funds for the dwindling elephant population. 161 elephants were auctioned and the proceeds donated the Asian Elephant Foundation.
The other exhibits were: The Adventures of Tin Tin, Imagine Dragons, The Story of Dr, Sun Yat Sen and Message Me, an exhibit which explores the development of communication from picture language to the latest technology.
The Singapore Philatelic Museum is a must-see destination for collectors, trivialist and philatelist. It is located at the corner of Coleman and Armenia street and is a few minutes walk from Orchard road. In Singapore, I noticed that young students are frequently brought out of their classroom into the field. Several of these youngsters were seen in the museums and botanical garden which we visited.
I was watching some of the Singaporean teachers and they seem to be very firm and strict but easily smiled to me when I passed by. Near the Museum you can also see an old Armenian church, the Bible House and the Perenakan Museum.