Exhibition marking The Straits Times' 180th anniversary opens on July 12 at Jewel Changi

Straits Times

17 hours ago

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The exhibition is equipped with interactive features that allow visitors to flip through thousands of front pages and participate in a Reporter-In-Training quest.
SINGAPORE – An avid reader of the news, Mrs Wendy Yap took a bus on Saturday to Jewel Changi Airport, to be among the first at The Straits Times' 180th anniversary exhibition.
The 57-year-old primary school mathematics teacher said she has the ST app, but still prefers the physical copy.
'It is my routine to read ST every morning. Once, the newspaper wasn't delivered to my home and I felt like something was off that day,' said Mrs Yap, who added that she feels a sense of pride when the newspaper is distributed to passengers on all Singapore-bound SIA flights.
She especially likes the human-interest reports and enjoys trying food recommendations published in ST's Life! section.
Mrs Yap highlighted two stories in particular:
Mr Ricqo Rafiezuwan , who used to be a stateless unemployed youth, and is now a permanent resident and Mr Hsu Hu-Chin, who found his mother – a former SIA stewardess -
after his story appeared in ST .
'I wanted to be at the exhibition to see more of the stories ST has covered over the years - different events in history and how the stories actually unfolded.
'I'm glad ST's articles has had an impact on people's lives,' she said, adding that she looks forward to reading profile features every weekend.
The exhibition takes visitors through eras the nation has experienced.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Like Mrs Yap, several other visitors at the roving exhibition at South Gateway Garden at Jewel Changi Airport, said they were intrigued by the range of stories the publication has covered over the years.
Ms Cheong Yin Ping , a r etired bank worker in her 60s , liked the interactive features, which she felt would do well in keeping the younger visitors engaged.
Her favourite part was when she created her own front page.
'In this age, people usually need instantaneous response, since their attention spans are shorter,' said Mrs Cheong.
Others like Mr Albert La i liked the interactive display comparing photographs of places in Singapore then and now, including landmarks like Clarke Quay, Bukit Batok Hill and the Padang.
'Because we forget the past sometimes, and now (this display) helps us to remember and see the changes,' added the 52-year-old sales executive .
For J arred Loo , 17 , his favourite part of the exhibition was the comic-book style panels that showed how the newsroom transformed from producing print-only papers to multi-media news formats.
The secondary school student said he has often reads ST, to expand his knowledge of current affairs.
Visitors at an interactive section of the exhibition.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Adult visitors were treated to a complimentary tote bag and notebook upon completing activities at three checkpoints, while children were presented with a specially designed sticker set.
Titled Heartbeats and Headlines: 180 Years of Telling The Singapore Story , the
roving exhibition organised by ST is equipped with interactive features that allow visitors to flip through thousands of front pages and participate in a Reporter-In-Training quest.
Adult visitors were treated to a complimentary tote bag and notebook upon completing activities at three checkpoints, while children were presented with a specially designed sticker set.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
The exhibition takes visitors through eras the nation has experienced: war and occupation in 1942 , the beginning of Housing Board flats in 1960 , the nation's dramatic exit from Malaysia in 1965 , the very first MRT trains starting service in 1987 , as well as national football team Singapore's Lions' victory in the Malaysia Cup in 1994, which sparked the rise of the 'kallang roar'.
It also showcases headlines that ST delivered when the world ushered in the millennium, ranging from the Singapore Airlines SQ006 crash in Taiwan in 2000 , the nation's largest manhunt for Mas Selamat Kastari who broke out of detention in 2008 , Singapore's first Olympic gold medal won by national swimmer Joseph Schooling in 2016 , the pandemic Covid-19 that brought the world to a standstill from 2020 to 2022 , to the present.
The exhibition is held at Jewel Changi Airport from July 12 to 20, and will shift to Westgate from July 25 to Aug 3, before settling at Raffles City Shopping Centre from Aug 8 to 17.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
The exhibition also chronicles the evolution of ST from a newspaper of record to a multi-platform media outlet in today's digital age.
One section displays readers' fondest memories of ST, and the lives of those transformed after being featured in its pages.
The exhibition is held at Jewel Changi Airport from July 12 to 20 , and will shift to Westgate from July 25 to Aug 3 , before settling at Raffles City Shopping Centre from Aug 8 to 17 .