[Explore] From Singapore to Singaporean : The Bicentennial Experience

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Raffles' landing in Singapore, The Bicentennial Experience was set up as an opportunity for us to look deeper into our history and our country's evolution. My Mom had expressed her interest to check out this experience and I'm glad she did as this prompted me to quickly fix a date and book the tickets online. Quite a few dates were almost sold out when I was booking the tickets.

In this post, I will share some of the highlights of The Bicentennial Experience - The Time Traveller Section.

Atrium - Reverse Rain

Before we were ushered to the different experiences, a staff would verbally briefed us on what to expect. The Bicentennial Experience started at the Atrium. Here, we see how the weather played a significant role in the rise and fall of civilization and cities. We witness the 'Reverse Rain' where rain magically moves upwards instead of down. This was created by a Japanese special effects company.

Act 1 - Beginnings (1299 - 1613)

This segment combines live performers on a moving travelator with multimedia projections and lots of actions to project the swift passing of time in a dynamic way. It took us on an adrenaline rush through 300 years, starting with Sang Nila utama's arrival in the 13th century. The customised travelator was made and designed in the United Kingdom before it was shipped to Singapore.

Act 2 - Arrival (1819)

This was a cinematic experience as we were seated in a small room designed to be like a ship. The show was projected on a 360 degree floor-to-ceiling circular surround screen and our seats can actually rotate. In this act, we were taken to that fateful turning point in Singapore's history where Sir Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore and how he turned this small island into a key British trading port. The narration of this act was told through the eyes of local wildlifes - an eagle, a rat, a monkey, a cat and a dragonfly.

Act 3 - Connectivity (1867 - 1941)

We stayed on our seats in the small room and the screen changed to show a colourful early 20th Century of how Singapore looked. Beneath the fun and glamour also lurked a series of illness and diseases and social problems like the coolies relying on the opium.

Act 4 - Occupation (1942 - 1945)

A sombre mood took over as we entered a series of dimly lit spaces showing the difficult days of Singapore during the Japanese Occupation. This act begins with an audio recording in a dark room that recounts how local resistance fighters bravely stood up to the Japanese invasion. We then entered a series of dark, fractured tunnels that recreates the destruction and despair the Japanese Occupation brought to Singapore at that time. The scenes were played on the cracks of the wall that provide a peek into the wartime life. One tunnel shows the defeat of the British while the other re-enacts a survivor's harrowing escape from a massacre.

Act 5 - Destiny (1950s - 2019)

This act shows how Singapore picked itself up after the war. In this special 'rain enclosure', we were given a transparent umbrella each before entering to prevent us from getting drenched. Some of the nation's achievements were projected on the screen. A surprising finale as we weather the storm as a nation.

The Time Traveller Experience concluded by reflecting on the 200 years that have defined and made us different. We were also given a ball each to cast our votes on the factors we felt is the more to define us.

For those who have not visited this experience, I strongly encourage you all to do so before the show sold out or ended. This multimedia sensory experience took us back in time to witness some of the key historical moments in Singapore's transformation through the different means and equipment. Definitely worth experiencing it yourself.