[Lifestyle Review] Circus! Science Under the Big Top

Thanks to Science Centre Singapore and MediaCorp VizPro International Pte Ltd, my two boys and I had the chance to visit Circus! Science Under the Big Top.

This is part of Science Centre Singapore largest series of year- end blockbuster exhibitions to celebrate 40 years of inspiring science. Themed around the timeless topic with a broad appeal, Circus! Science Under the Big Top kick-starts the showcase and invites visitors to get a closer look at some of the most mind-boggling and death-defying circus acts. Visitors can satisfy their curiosity and immerse themselves in the science behind some of the iconic circus performances. The exhibition will run from 28 October 2017 to 18 March 2018.

Organised by Science Centre Singapore and Mediacorp VizPro International, Circus! Science Under the Big Top is a travelling exhibition originally from the Ontario Science Centre. It first opened in Toronto, Canada in 2001 and has undergone timely enhancements as it travelled across the world wowing over 600,000 visitors, including the UK and the US. The exhibition also celebrates the heritage of modern circus, specifically how it all started with Englishman Philip Astley who created a ring to bring together different performing acts back in 1768, nearly 250 years ago.

The Singapore edition features around 20 interactive exhibits. Visitors can experience how it feels to balance on a three metre High Wire or securing themselves to the harness in Elastic Acrobatics and perform aerial tricks like a trapeze artist to trying their hand at juggling. Explore the art of packanatomicalization (getting into small spaces) and find out if you have what it takes to fold yourself into a small box as the contortionists. Discover how science is at the heart of every circus act.

Additional activities have been planned to augment the science learning through activities such as magic performances on every Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm from 28 October to 31 December, as well as a special magic workshop for children on 18 November where participants will learn the techniques behind time-tested magic tricks such as “Vanishing Tissue” and “I Know Your Number”.

Science Centre Singapore will also launch three other exhibitions, as part of its #unFOURgettable40 celebrations this year. The other three exhibitions are Phobia2 (28 October), Dialogue with Time – Embrace Ageing (10 November), and Above and Beyond (25 November). Together, the four exhibitions invite visitors to explore and understand the science behind intriguing phenomena in our lives that can be dissected and explained by scientific theories. More details about the exhibitions can be found at www.science.edu.sg or on the Science Centre Singapore’s Facebook page.

Admission to Circus! Science Under The Big Top is priced at $15 per child and $18 per adult. Promotional bundles are available at $52 for a family of four (2 adults and 2 child).

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ArtScience Museum presents Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art and Science of Gems Exhibition on 23 April 2016

How often does one get to have a chance to get up close and personal with stunning creations from Van Cleef & Arpels from the French National Museum of Natural History Collection? 

I was one of the lucky few to be invited to the Media Conference for The Art & Science of Gems by Van Cleef & Arpels.  

Being a trained image consultant/trainer for 10 years, I loved beautiful jewellery pieces that have stories behind the inspirations on how they were designed and created.

Exploring the worlds of exquisite jewellery and their links to minerals, Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art and Science of Gems exhibition will premiere at Marina Bay Sands’ ArtScience Museum on April 23. Co-curated with ArtScience Museum, over 400 stunning creations from Van Cleef & Arpels and 250 minerals from the French National Museum of Natural History Collection will be on display. 

Waiting patiently for the media conference to start and also to find out which stunning pieces will be on display.

A first for Van Cleef & Arpels, the exhibition will feature two complementing routes to showcase the intersection between the science of mineralogy and the art of jewellery making: one route unearths the evolution of minerals from the deep Earth to its surface, and the other presents the transformation of these minerals into precious works of art in the hands of the Maison’s best craftsmen, known as the “Mains d’OrTM”. 

The stunning pieces of the exhibition are from the Maison’s archive collection, and also include pieces on loan from private collectors globally. 

Co-curated with ArtScience Museum, this is the first-of-its-kind exhibition that blends art, craft, history and geoscience with the elegance and style that characterises Van Cleef & Arpels’ rich heritage.

The Singapore exhibition follows a series of seven defining themes: couture, abstractions, influences, precious objects, nature, ballerinas and fairies, and icons. In conjunction with these breath-taking creations are natural treasures and scientific artefacts from Minerals and Gems Collection of the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France. 

Some of the amazing pieces were unveiled at the media conference after the media were briefed on the history and thoughts which went into designing the pieces.

One of Van Cleef & Arpels’ most striking special pieces is a flying bird carrying a briolette-cut yellow diamond of 96.62 carats. In the 1930s, this unique gem belonged to the opera singer and socialite Ganna Walska, who wore it as a pendant. In keeping with Van Cleef & Arpels’ tradition of transformability, the bird can also metamorphose into a pair of winged earrings and even a brooch, while the magnificent yellow diamond can be detached from the clip and worn alone as a pendant. 

Another versatile piece is this zip necklace, 1954-Patrick Gries, which is transformable into a bracelet.

This was my favourite piece of all... The Spanish ballerina clip, 1942-Patrick Gries.  I find the design absolutely sweet with the play of colours.

This is extremely amazing piece as it is a clutch bag but with so many personal grooming items that a woman wants to put in a bag. This is known as Wild rose Minaudière, 1938 - Patrick Gries.

Check out some of the photos I took of the exclusive pieces that were showcased during the media conference.

Want to see these and more?

Tickets for the Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art and Science of Gems exhibition will be available on April 1 at all Marina Bay Sands box offices and website. Terms and conditions apply:

Van Cleef & Arpels: The Art and Science of GemsExhibition		Standard ticket	Singapore resident ticket
	Adult	S$17	S$10
	Senior (65 years and above)	S$12.8	S$8.5
	Child (2- 12 years)	S$10	S$6
	Family package  (2 kids and 2 adults)	S$39	S$26

For more information, please visit www.marinabaysands.com/artsciencemuseum.

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