What were founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s growing up years like, and what did he have to overcome in order to become a man who helped build Singapore into a thriving cosmopolitan city? In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Mr Lee’s birth, Children’s Museum Singapore (CMSG) has launched its latest exhibition – LKY100 – The Boy Who Became Prime Minister Exhibition – which traces the late Mr Lee’s story from his childhood to his career as a statesman, and examines the values he espoused and the legacy he left behind. The exhibition runs from 19 August 2023 to 14 January 2024.
The exhibition seeks to deepen young visitors’ understanding of the Singapore story through the lens of Mr Lee’s life and values, and foster a sense of pride at how far we have Along with his better-known achievements, visitors will also discover a more relatable side of Mr Lee, who grew up in the 1920s playing with gasing, marbles and fighting fish. In doing so, the exhibition also aims to show that young people can have big dreams and can make a difference in their communities and nation.
Mrs Wai Yin Pryke, Museum Director, CMSG, said: “We hope the exhibition will reveal a more relatable side to Mr Lee Kuan Yew – as a young boy growing up – to our children, and in the process inspire them by showing how he went on to achieve extraordinary things. We hope they will be encouraged to dream big and ‘follow that rainbow’, as Mr Lee famously once said”
Capturing Mr Lee Kuan Yew Legacy For The Next Generation
As part of the exhibition’s curatorial process, CMSG organised focus group discussions with our community of Little Ambassadors – which comprise children of different age groups – and their parents. The purpose of these discussions was to gather their views about Mr Lee Kuan Yew and what they would like to learn about him, and resulted in the exhibition focusing on exploring Mr Lee’s childhood, and expounding on his values and legacy in a light, easily-digestible way.
The exhibition is located in CMSG’s Discovery Room. It welcomes visitors with the Cabinet of Curiosity, where an array of artefacts tell stories of different periods in Mr Lee’s life. These include a Telok Kurau East School (now Telok Kurau Primary School) admission register bearing his English name “Lee Harry”, from when he studied there from 1930 to 1935. A tennis racket presented to Mr Lee in 1973 will also show his penchant for leading a healthy lifestyle, demonstrated by his active participation in sports such as tennis, cricket and swimming during his schooling years.
Young visitors can also enjoy mural walls which juxtapose milestones in Mr Lee’s life and career against Singapore’s development, and also contemplate and pose with some of Mr Lee’s famous sayings in a “quotes mirror”. To complement LKY100 – The Boy Who Became Prime Minister, CMSG will present a series of programmes which include interactive storytelling sessions, hands-on craft workshops, and a unique mystery box challenge.
In addition, an LKY100 – The Boy Who Became Prime Minister teaser exhibition with accompanying storytelling sessions will travel to selected public libraries across the island from September 2023 to January 2024. The travelling teaser exhibition will also feature artworks submitted by young creators who participated in CMSG’s Singapore Dreaming The artworks depict the children’s hopes and dreams for Singapore in a comic format and selected entries will be printed on Yeo’s Soymilk vending machines in their school networks this August.
Visitors to CMSG this August will also get a limited-edition packet of Yeo’s Heritage Brew Chrysanthemum Tea that commemorates the 100th anniversary of Mr Lee’s birth, while stocks last.
