The children arrived at the Malay Heritage Centre and were eager to discover the rich history and culture of our nation's Malay community.

When they entered, the children were shown a mural of Istana Kampong Glam (Sultan's Palace) which served as the royal residence of the Malay sultans in Singapore. The palace and its compounds were beautifully restored to its former glory to become the Malay Heritage Centre.

On the second floor, the children were shown a mural of the Malay Archipelago and they discovered how international sea routes were used for trading. They also learnt about how Singapore flourished as a trading post because of its strategic location as a natural meeting point of sea routes.

Afterwards, the children were shown a visual image of Kampong Glam as a thriving port town. Ships from all over the Malay Archipelago would dock a few hundred metres in front of the Sultan's Palace.

The children were shown a few photos showing the different Malay subgroups in Singapore.

The Javanese are easily identified by the distinct headdress worn by men.

Mrs. Rila showed the children a photo of a couple dressed in their traditional wedding garb. On this joyous occasion, the bride and the groom become "king and queen for a day" and are treated like royalty.

The children were shown the "songkok"- a cap commonly worn by Muslim males.

They were then taken to see a collection of items commonly used in a Malay household.

Such items include different types of moulds to make "kueh" (small cakes) and a tool to make rice flour jelly which is an essential ingredient in "chendol" (iced sweet dessert).

They were introduced to the traditional Malay clothing. "Baju melayu" are worn by men while "baju kurong" are worn by women.

Mrs. Jo briefly talked about "Haj" - the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca which all Muslims are expected to do once in their lifetime. She also explained how thousands of Muslim pilgrims from the region would flock to Kampong Glam before they boarded steamships to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Chen laoshi showed the children a "haj belt". It is a small waist bag which is used by the pilgrims to carry money and other valuables. The children were given a paper cut-out of a "haj belt" which they can colour and make at home.

Chen laoshi shared about the history of Kampong Glam as a fishing village. As fishing was an important source of livelihood for many back then, she discussed one traditional method of catching fish by using traps. Commonly, it is made of a cylindrically-shaped woven bamboo whose gate is narrowing inward. It attracts fish to the bait set in it so after entering, they hardly get out and are trapped inside it.

The teachers asked the children to observe the different benches placed all around the exhibit areas. Each bench has a different adage carved on it. This adage expresses wishing happiness to others.

Lastly, the children were introduced to "Wayang Kulit" - a puppet-shadow play.

The children were taken behind the screen to see the puppets. They learnt about the time-consuming process of making these puppets using buffalo skin, cutting out the intricate designs and painting them on both sides.