5 Reasons Why You Should Visit The (All-New) Maritime Experiential Museum

Follow in the footsteps of four great maritime adventurers as you return to the Maritime Silk Route of eras past at the newly reopened Maritime Experiential Museum (MEM). One of the attractions at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), the Museum reopens its doors on 29 December 2017, keeping its best features from before and changing almost entirely the rest of the interior. It is now more immersive, focusing entirely on the Maritime Silk Route. Singapore Residents will also enjoy special reopening rates for admission tickets at S$9 for adults and S$6 for children (valid until further notice).

With an array of state-of-the-art multimedia, interactive hands-on exhibits, multisensory experiences and a ton of Insta-worthy backdrops across its 15 thematic galleries, here are 5 reasons why you should embark on an epic voyage with us.

1. It lets you be a part of the story

With a single, coherent narrative across all its 15 galleries, a walkthrough of the MEM isn’t merely about reading descriptions off the wall as a distant third person. Rather, it involves taking on the first person role of an explorer.

But fret not, you won’t be going on this journey alone. Your voyage begins in the Briefing Room where four *holographic* world-famous seafarers – Marco Polo, Sang Nila Utama, Ibn Battuta and Zheng He – share their maritime experiences with you before they follow you on your own expedition.

At the end of the expedition, those brave enough to last the whole journey will be congratulated by the same four seafarers who were with you the entire time.

2. You get to try your hand at being a mariner

Every sailor has to be trained in the art and science of navigation before he can hit the high seas. That’s why the Learning to Navigate chamber is a highly interactive zone with four stations where you’ll be able to see if you have what it takes to be a sailor.

Mariners’ Knots: where the intricacies of knot-tying are explained and tested; this then comes alive when you realise that the Jewel of Muscat (which you can see just out the window of the chamber) was built primarily with rope, without any nails or modern shipbuilding techniques.

Navigation Tools: learn what enabled navigators of the past to travel the boundless seas, mapping uncharted lands and discovering untold wealth.

Rotoscope: a rotating digital screen that lets you zoom in on the different parts of the Jewel of Muscat, with details of what they are.

Fun fact: this was an actual ship that made a five-month, 5,000km trip along an ancient trade route from Oman to Singapore in 2010, using only sailing techniques available in the 9^th century!

Dressing Room: you get to dress up as one of the explorers in this interactive photo segment, and even send the photos to yourself for keepsake.

3. All your senses will be engaged in this immersive experience

No expense has been spared in easing you into the psyche of an actual explorer. Whether it’s an experiential show, a walkthrough of a live-sized ship interior, or sets that simulate the ports of call of old, you will be transported back in time into the shoes of an adventurer – with all the dangers that come with that.

Typhoon Theater*: a must-see anchor attraction, this experiential show that simulates a sinking ship in a treacherous storm. Face the wrath of the sea before descending to the depths of the ocean.

*Top up of S$3 required

Pirate Encounter: step into the hollowed out underdeck of a Bao Chuan replica to find a lightshow of the deadly struggles of sailors as they fend of pirate invaders.

Ports of Call: take a walk through four bustling ports of Quanzhou, Oman, Calicut and Malacca that link China with the Middle East and Europe as you see, touch and smell a variety of faithfully recreated exhibits like frankincense, perfumes and spices that were heavily traded in days of old.

Fun fact: many of the exhibits at Trade of Oman are the real deal, donated by the Sultan of Oman.

Find out just how much of modern Singapore’s economic success is owed to its maritime trade at the Singapore Maritime Legacy zone.

4. There are plenty of Insta-worthy backdrops for your next photo outing

Fellow Millennials, if you’ve hopped on the bandwagon of visiting museums and galleries for the Gram, this one’s for you. Apart from the hipster set-ups and mood lighting throughout the MEM, there’re also several photo ops for you to snap away:

…need we say more?

P.S. don’t forget to include the hashtag #RWSMEM in all your social media posts – we look forward to seeing them!

5. It proves that learning doesn’t have to be boring

Thanks to the aforementioned reasons, educational trips to the MEM will be fun and engaging, setting the stage for learning to take place. After all, you learn best when the subject comes across as interesting to you.

Visually appealing displays like this globe in the MEM’s three-sectioned Library are set to capture your attention, inciting you to find out more about maritime trade around the world.

Trivia may seem trivial, but they make for excellent conversation starters in everyday life. Discover the evolutionary timeline of currency that arose from the limitations of barter trade, and be intrigued by the process of coin-making at the Maritime Coin History zone.

With a wealth of fascinating details on how the majestic Chinese Junk, Javanese Jong, Borobudur Ship and other vessels were designed and constructed with the ingenuity that surpassed the technology of their time, the Room of Vessels promises to inspire engineering and nautical enthusiasts.