National Museum
31 July

The children arrived at the National Museum to explore the exhibition titled ‘Packaging Matters’ which displayed various kinds of early food packaging in Singapore.

As we entered, Mrs Geraldine guided the children to the first display and talked about the different types of plantations that were in Singapore. They learnt that Singapore had coconut, rubber and pepper plantations.

Afterwards, the children were shown the various leaves used for packing popular food used in Singapore in the past. The children expressed their excitement when they recognized some of the dishes that were shown. Mrs Geraldine explained that the different types of leaves had different purposes when used to package certain food.

We moved on to the next display which showed early metal packaging for food items like mooncakes, biscuits and baby food.

They were then shown how frozen food packaging has evolved from paper boxes then to plastic. They also looked at glass bottles which was how milk was sold.

Then, the children moved on to look at the array of empty glass bottles. Mrs Geraldine shared that in the past, these bottles would be reused – they get collected, cleaned and refilled with beverages to be sold again to customers.

Moving on from the display of glass bottles, children looked at the different bottle caps showing drinks of the 1960s to the 1980s. They were also shown the crates that were used to transport the soft drink bottles to ensure that they do not get damaged.

Ms Kristine talked about the different types of food carriers in the past and shared how people used a variety of materials to contain their food. Some of the examples shown were baskets, cloth bags and polystyrene boxes. They talked about the material their personal food carriers are and compared how similar or different it is to the ones on display.

Ms Kristine and Mrs Geraldine explained the meaning and importance of recycling and why they have to be segregated based on what it is made of. The children also learnt that before an item is recycled, it is crucial that the contents have to be emptied and the containers are rinsed and dried thoroughly in order to prevent contamination.

Lastly, the children were taken to view recycled art where many different packaging materials have been transformed into decorative and useful items like wind chimes, maracas and food items.

The children then broke off into groups and were given time to explore the activities around the exhibit. One of them included a drawing activity which involved the children to display their creativity by designing their own food packaging for the future.

Another activity involved spinning and matching the food items to their old and new packaging. The children learnt that most of them have differed over time and looked at the packaging materials that were used in the past.

The last activity required the children to pick a food packaging and sort it according to its material. Once they had picked, the children showed their friends and placed them accordingly.

Before the field trip came to an end, the children worked on an activity booklet and revisited several things that were discussed earlier to find the answers to fill their booklets.

Before the field trip came to an end, the children worked on an activity booklet and revisited several things that were discussed earlier to find the answers to fill their booklets.