Unnatural History Museum of Singapore features cyborg cockroaches and bee drones

Mechanical and mythical Singaporean creatures take centre stage at the Unnatural History Museum of Singapore exhibition, which has been created as part of this year's Singapore Design Week.

Installed at the National Design Centre, the exhibition was designed by creative agency Kinetic Singapore to showcase Singapore's innovative and "unconventional" solutions to address its lack of natural resources, including cyborg cockroaches.

Drawing on this idea of unconventionality, Kinetic Singapore conceptualised the space as a parody of traditional natural history museums to reflect the country's unique history as a "nation by design".

"When we received this brief, we looked back into what was said about our country," lead curator and co-founder of Kinetic Singapore Pann Lim told Dezeen.

"We found this quote by our former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, which says that Singapore is a nation by design," he continued. "Secondly, he said nothing we have today is natural and nothing was by chance."

"Everyone knows what a natural history museum is, but do you know what the unnatural history museum is? So that became our focus," he added.

Centring the showcase is a six-metre-tall "fossil" of a Merlion – a half-lion, half-fish mythical creature native to Singapore – in what Lim says is the first physical depiction of its skeleton.

Among the mechanical artefacts on display is a robotic swan developed by the National University of Singapore and the Public Utilities Board (PUB) to monitor water quality.

Its design was intended to be less intrusive by blending into its natural surroundings.

Other smaller inventions include a cyborg cockroach created by the Nanyang Technological University and HTX for use on search-and-rescue missions in disaster zones.

Favoured for their ability to navigate tight spaces, the cockroaches are fitted with electronic "backpacks" that contain sensors and thermal cameras.

Also on show is an autonomous nano drone designed by Polybee in 2019 to supplement the pollination of plants by bees, as well as monitor plant health.

Classical architectural elements reimagined in painted wood enclose the exhibition and were designed to offer a playful take on traditional museum architecture.

At its front, a portico marks the exhibition's main entrance and is engraved with signage. Contemporary interpretations of Roman columns are repeated around the space.

Meanwhile, glass cabinets wrapping around the edge of the space display artefacts arranged and labelled in the format of a typical museum.

"The hard part was to curate it where it aligns with a natural history museum," Lim said. "If I were to present anything that had no linkage with a natural history museum, then you wouldn't see the parody."

"Once you see the juxtaposition, it becomes interesting," he added.

A second exhibition space expands the collection and includes the Vertical Columbaria exhibit, which depicts a colourful collection of funeral urns.

The wall reflects an initiative that began in 1962 to promote a shift from expansive cemeteries to "high-rise" columbaria to free up land in Singapore.

"We have ideas that work [and] are innovative, and ideas that are unconventional," Lim said. "Policies might not resonate with every citizen, but it works for the country."

Other exhibitions taking place during the event include Emerge at FIND – Design Fair Asia, which showed producs and furniture including a mycelium coffee table and inflatable lamp.

The country's design week this year marks its 60 years of independence.

The photography is by AlvieAlive.

Dezeen is a media partner of Singapore Design Week.

The Unnatural History Museum of Singapore is taking place at the National Design Centre from 11 September to 26 October as part of Singapore Design Week 2025, which runs until 21 September 2025. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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