HELLO WORLD:
Explore Singapore - Day 6, Part 1
We've always been used to museums that house archaeological artifacts, dioramas and other historical finds, that help keep and enrich a specific cultural heritage. So when I first heard about the MINT (Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys) Museum of Toys in Singapore, I immediately got curious and excited! Well, that's because I am both passionately serious about history and playfully child like on toy collection! =)
And in the Day 6 of my Explore Singapore mission, my cousin Rose (we actually used to call her Osang when she was a kid hehe), was my guide for the day since Jandy has to go to work that time. We then explored the rest of the spots that were left in my target list, one of which, of course, is the MINT Museum of Toys.
Located at Seah Street, beside Raffles Hotel, MINT creator and owner Chang Yang Fa, an engineering consultant, believes this five-story building is the first purposely-built toy museum in the world. Chang built and opened the MINT Museum of Toys to house his 50,000 toys he acquired since childhood. His first toy is a Matchbox 73 RAF refueling truck he bought when he was only 6 years old.
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| Tintin |
The rare toy collection spans from over 25 countries and different era (mid-19th to 20th century). The 50,000 toy collection includes wooden vintage and classic tin toys, action figures like Superman and Ultraman, cartoon characters such as Popeye, Tintin and Donald Duck, and matchbox cars, among many others.
The museum is divided into four galleries, the Outer Space, Characters, Childhood Favourites and Collectibles (it spelled Collectables in the store).
Entrance
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| Astroboy welcomes guests! |
Outer Space Section
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Darth Maul
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| Star Wars action figures |
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| Star Trek |
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| Tin Space Ship |
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| Flash Gordon |
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| Rosey with the toys |
Characters Collection
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| Popeye |
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| Dennis the Menace |
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| Pinnochio |
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| The Popeye-Olive love team |
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| The Flintstones |
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| The Adventures of Tintin |
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| I'm Bond, James Bond! |
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| Batman, Batman! |
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| The mask of Captain America |
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| Green Hornet through the years |
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| It's a bird, no it's a plane, no it's... |
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| Superman! with Bruce Lee as side kick? =/ |
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| foydi doubts nemo |
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| foydi vs. Ultra Man! |
Childhood Favorites
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| The Ms. Betty Boop! |
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| Felix the Cat |
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| Vintage Mickey Mouse dolls |
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| Donald Duck |
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| Snow White and the seven dwarfs |
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| Woody Wood Pecker |
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| from rivals to friends! =D Walt Disney's Donald Duck and Looney Tunes' Bugs Bunny in one frame! |
Collectibles Gallery
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| Well, a matchbox car is called as such because the toy car fits a match box. |
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| Charlie Chaplin |
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| Chinese doll |
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| Clowns |
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| Old babies... huh? |
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| These toys are pretty scary! =D |
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| More scary toys! =/ |
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| The Swimmer |
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| Real people as toys. Yup, it's JFK! |
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| Another real people made into toys, the legendary Beatles |
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| Vintage Donald Duck |
After the tour, another attraction is the MINT Cafe, where it boasts not only of mouth watering meals and thirst quenching drinks, but the visually enticing posters.
Mint Cafe
Although I was very much fascinated in the facility, my only comment is that most of the toys are not displayed in a museum like manner, where each item may have enough space to depict a certain scene, create a certain feel for a vintage toy. Perhaps there are just too much toys to show and there is not so much space. And I think that's a good problem for the museum! =) Nevertheless, the MINT Museum of Toys is a fantastic attraction and touring it is another awesome experience. And I believe for people like its creator Chang, who dreams big, and fulfills it spectacularly, for sure, has great plans in store for the toy museum. And I for one, will be more than happy to see it grow bigger and bigger in the future. =)
Come to think of it, the MINT Museum of Toys is another irony of life's mixes that blended really well. People may say that "toys are for the young and the playful" and "museums are for the old and the serious". And that's what the MINT Museum of Toys brought together for people to enjoy; for the "young and young at heart" or "old and in love with the old" to share and experience together.
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