Remember the days when a public phone card was worth keeping, a Walkman was your favourite companion, and a neighbourhood mama shop was practically a childhood paradise? If these memories sound familiar, here’s a free exhibition that might take you straight back to the good old days!
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Running from 19 October to 20 December 2026, A Walk Through Time (时光之旅), presented by Skills Development Academy, brings Singapore’s past and present together through nostalgic displays and modern artificial intelligence (AI) experiences.
Step Back Into Singapore’s Good Old Days
The journey begins at the Mama Diam, a recreation of the traditional neighbourhood provision shop.
Remember buying colourful sweets, biscuits, chocolate snacks and little treats after school? The familiar shelves, old-fashioned cash register, enamel cups and retro furniture bring back memories of a time when even a few coins could make a child happy.
Next, wander into the retro living room. With its wooden sofa, patterned cushions, bulky CRT television, cassette player and old-school electric fan, the setting looks just like a typical Singapore home from decades ago.
No Netflix, no YouTube, no smartphones — just the whole family gathering around one television!
Before Smartphones Took Over Our Lives
One particularly interesting section showcases the evolution of mobile phones.
From the bulky brick phone and Motorola StarTAC to the legendary Nokia 3310, BlackBerry and early iPhone, visitors can see how communication has transformed over the years.
Remember playing Snake on your Nokia? Or feeling incredibly fashionable carrying a flip phone?
There are also displays of public phone cards, TransitLink farecards, Sony Walkmans, Discmans and MP3 players.
Back then, listening to music meant carrying cassette tapes or CDs. Today, thousands of songs fit inside one smartphone!
From Yesterday’s Memories to Tomorrow’s AI
But this exhibition isn’t just about looking backwards.
After exploring the nostalgic displays, visitors enter the AI Era, where technology takes centre stage.
At the AI Prompt Lab, discover how asking better questions can produce better AI results. The AI Grandmaster offers a playful AI-powered fortune-reading experience, while the AI Interactive Hub introduces different digital tools and their everyday uses.
It’s an interesting contrast — from using telephone cards to communicating with artificial intelligence in just a few decades!
A Free Outing for Different Generations
For older visitors, this exhibition is a pleasant trip down memory lane. For younger generations, it offers a glimpse into everyday life before everything became digital.
Best of all, admission is free, with eight exhibition stops to explore at your own pace across various locations in Singapore.
Whether you remember these objects from childhood or are seeing them for the first time, A Walk Through Time offers a fun reminder of how quickly Singapore has changed.
Who remembers the Nokia 3310, cassette tapes and mama-shop sweets? Those really were the days!
Exhibition details
- Event: A Walk Through Time (时光之旅)
- Dates: 19 October – 20 December 2026
- Admission: Free
- Organiser: Skills Development Academy
- Locations: Across 8 locations in Singapore. Check the official exhibition guide for participating venues and schedules.
