The Unnatural History Museum of Singapore at National Design Centre (NDC) is a parody and arts exhibition that celebrates Singapore’s unconventional history. It is one that is uniquely shaped by design, and a display of Singapore’s various technologies blending biomimicry with arts and technology in one curated exhibition in the Singapore Bugis Arts district.
The exhibition was something I chanced upon during my exploration of the Singapore Night festival few weeks back when they were setting up for the opening reveal this week. Let’s take at explore the temporary exhibition organised by Kinetic Singapore which runs for a period just under 2 months from 11 Sept to 26 Oct 2025.
The unnatural exhibits
Curated as is part of Singapore Design Week 2025, commissioned by Design Singapore Council. The National Design Centre building atrium is transformed into a museum of the unexpected. The exhibition invites you to explore some of Singapore’s most curious creations and unconventional history. Also, the exhibition imagines historical artefacts that are partly surreal or speculative. There are illustrative collection that features hybrid flora and robotic fauna, unusual habitats, reimagined landscapes and beyond.
The setting of the exhibits revolves about a normal museum façade with a hint of classic circus freakshow theming which beckons what is within. Each exhibit is labelled and treated like an artefact, often with text that frames it in historical or speculative context. Also, the space is indoors, air-conditioned (since it’s at the Design Centre), so humidity/weather outside has little effect once inside.
Each exhibit is protrayed as an ancient historical artefact, designed to offer fresh perspectives and spark conversation. This includes a six-meter Merlion skeleton fossil, animal droids in diorama sets and taxidermy-style displays. There are also new engineering materials showcased in a geological setting, alternative foods presented in specimen dishes, landscape-style paintings with a man made twist to name afew.
Taxidermy-style displays
A key focus here are taxidermy-style displays. They are not of real animals but rather reimagined, possibly speculative. Things you expect in a natural history collection, but not quite what you’d assume. Though this is no Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum which we visited sometime back, it addresses questions of a nation thinking differently and adapting to survive and thrive without natural resources.
A first thing which catches you are the robotic fauna dioramas, these are visually striking and provoke thought about where design and nature intersect. Here, animal droids in diorama sets which feel both playful and uncanny. They mimic classic natural history dioramas but are robotic, maybe hinting at future/tech or synthetic nature.
Here you can find small insect-sized drones that are used mimic the flower pollination behaviour of real bees. In the event if urbanisation, pollution and lost of habitats wipe out entire local bee populations.
Underwater research and observation submersibles which looks like rays and even robots disguised as fake white swans on the lake.
You can also say hi to Daisy, a friendly, yet uncanny humanoid wellness robot used in eldercare interactions. There are also delivery and medical robots on display too.
Moreover, the visual design is strong, with the lighting and staging make the imaginary displays feel like museum artefacts. It is tad a juxtaposition of real museum convention such as dioramas, fossils, taxidermy-style display, with surreal elements (robotic fauna, hybrid flora) making it a double-take.
There are also Robotic mind-controlled rescue cockroaches on display. They are used to crawl into rubble and are more reliable than conventional wheeled rescue robots.
Also, you can also learn of Human-engineered Darwinism, such as Panda fertility is encourage via habits, while Mosquitoes are made infertile through Project Wolbachia.
Merlions fossils exits?
Merlions do not exists, well except in our imagery minds of Singaporean and our Tourism board which invented the iconic figure many closely associate Singapore with today. A 6m tall Merlion fossil takes center stage at the exhibition center space which you cannot miss, presented like an archaeological specimen.
Also, the synthetic structure display is emblematic, yet amusing and symbolic that ties together myth, identity, design. It does also sets the playful but reflective tone.
Moreover, there are also sections dedicated to material engineering. Examples includes a geological display of alternative “natural building material” made from recycled waste, corals and fungi. The new materials shown in geological setting. Here you will see design materials shown like geological samples, fossils or minerals, reframing what “natural” means.
Also, there is also a section alternative food specimen dishes. This includes alternative protein sourced from insects, with the bug food served as displays with local favourite dishes. The food items presented as though they are preserved specimens.
This blurs design, culinary culture, heritage, especially if you like novel food design or culture. If you catch the tasting event (on specific days), that’s a bonus. They force you to re-imagine ordinary design materials as part of natural history.
Infrastructure initiatives
Moreover, the exhibits also spill out from the atrium space into the front lobby area with a section devoted to infrastructure initiatives. Also, the space is largely open in the atrium, so you can wander among the exhibits. The flow is non-linear and you are free to move between displays rather than a strict path. This gives a sense of discovery.
Here you can find Landscape paintings with a man-made twist, which are not pure nature. It incorporates driving elements of human invention, manipulation, design. Landscape paintings offers tad a twist which is good for reflection.
The “twist” parts (man-made elements) are subtle and fun to spot. Also, there are interactivity elements, like one about Singapore’s Newater journey of treating recycled water safe for consumption. There is a section on columbariums, vertical farming with even live seafood here on display.
How does a nation with very limited natural resources think differently to survive and thrive? This all to address Singapore’s land and food scarcity challenges.
The displays portrays more than feats of individual ingenuity, the showcase is a testament to the creativity that has driven Singapore’s progress over the decades.
It teaches that design in Singapore is not only aesthetic but adaptive: coping with limited natural resources, thriving in constraints. Also, a section talks about Singapore’s build and design ideas such as massive land reclamation and underground journey. It encourages you to reflect on the role design has played in our nation-building journey and imagine how it might continue to guide our collective future.
Wrapping up
The pop-up offers free admission, though visitor numbers vary; some days are crowded. This could affect how long you linger at each piece. Hence, do plan your visit for a less busy time (weekday morning or early afternoon) if you want to take time reading labels and looking closely.
There is a lot of detail with features programmes (e.g. alternative food tasting events, guided tours) occurring only at specific dates or times. If interested, check the schedule in advance. There are notably no major performances, though the design items themselves are performative in concept.
All in all, that wraps up our visit to the Unnatural History Museum of Singapore. You are good for an hour viewing all the exhibits, so do bring enough time: even though it is not a huge museum, there is enough content for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours if you want to do a 100% coverage of all the displays.
The exhibits feels like a thoughtful, well-designed mashup of imagination, history, and design. It prompts provocations and is a tad uncanny in places, in a good way, making you question what is “natural”, what is “historical”, how design shapes both.
If you like exhibitions that stimulate thinking as well as delight the senses, this one delivers. The show runs from 11 Sept to 26 Oct 2025 at the National Design Centre, Level 1 atrium at 111 Middle Road. Operating hours are from 9.00am to 9.00pm daily.
