Research Catalog

Title

Of whales and dinosaurs : the story of Singapore's Natural History Museum / Kevin Y.L. Tan.

Author

Tan, Kevin,

Publication

Singapore : NUS Press, [2015]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xix, 266 pages : illustrations (some color); 24 cm

Summary

Officially established in 1878, the natural history collection - originally housed at the Raffles Museum - now has more than 560,000 specimens in its care, one of the largest collections of Southeast Asian plants and animals. Dedicated to scientific research and education, the museum was reincarnated as the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in 2015, closing the loop on its remarkable 127-year history. But beneath the sleek exterior of the museum's new, modern building lies a saga of struggle and change. That the collections survived at all - through the multiple challenges of the nineteenth century, the disruption of World War Two, and its potential disintegration in the face of Singapore's modernization - is nothing short of miraculous. This book is not only an institutional history of the museum but also recounts the frustrations, tenacity, and courage of the numerous individuals who battled officialdom, innovated endlessly, and overcame the odds to protect Singapore's natural history heritage.

Subjects

• Singapur
• Singapore
• Zuidoost-Azië
• Natural history museums > Singapore
• Naturkundemuseum
• Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 242-246) and index.

Language (note)

• In English.

Contents

Acknowledgements -- Prologue by Peter K.L. Ng -- Preface -- Temenggong Ibrahim's coins and the founding of the Raffles Museum -- Laying the foundations 1876-86 -- The Halcyon years 1887-1926 -- From strength to strength 1921-42 -- The war years 1942-45 -- Becoming the National Museum 1946-70 -- The Zoological Reference Collection 1970-77 -- Back from the brink 1977-87 -- A Kent Ridge homecoming -- Building a world-class natural history museum -- Endnotes -- Bibliography -- List of illustrations -- Illustration credits -- Index.

ISBN

• 9789971698553
• 9971698552
• 9789814722131
• 9814722138

LCCN

2015322168

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library