Science Centre Singapore: In decline, or still holding on?
The centre’s visitorship has declined in recent years as marketing efforts struggle to captivate audiences post-pandemic.
Ever since he was a child in primary school, Mr Ryan Syazmie Masih, 18, has been a frequent visitor to Science Centre Singapore.
He recalls the centre being a bustling location where one “would always see kids running around”.
However, upon a recent visit in 2025, Mr Masih observed that the centre was much emptier than usual.
“There were some people, but it wasn’t really packed at all," said Mr Masih.
According to data published by the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) in 2025, Science Centre Singapore has seen a marked difference in total annual visitorship, going from roughly 1,027,000 visits in 2019 to 460,200 visits in 2023.
Ms Dilys Woon, 28, a Project Officer for Events & Engagement at Science Centre Singapore, says that the centre’s visitorship numbers took a hit due to the loss of in-person visitorship as a result of the pandemic, and that “it’s taking some time for the public to start returning to regular visits”.
At the same time, Ms Woon says that the centre's exhibitions have received sizable publicity in recent years through media coverage on newspapers and social media, and are nonetheless seeing “decent engagement” from visitors.
However, Mr Masih maintains that the appeal of the centre seems to be weakening due to a decline in the quality and variety of its exhibitions.
Furthermore, he says that the youth may not be as interested in visiting the centre due to the culture of device usage today.
“I feel that kids these days would rather just sit on their phones or iPads than go outside and experience things,” said Mr Masih.
Ms Woon shares a similar sentiment, saying that “young people may simply not be as interested in learning more about science”.
“I think it’s challenging in general to engage young people, especially in the current day and age where we are competing with so many other types of media for their attention. It can be hard to spark genuine interest that leads directly to more visits to our exhibitions,” said Ms Woon.
Mr Masih recounts that during his last trip to the centre, the exhibitions generally failed to pique his interest, but he ultimately believes that visiting the centre could still be a worthwhile experience if only to view new exhibitions.
However, he personally feels that he has sufficiently explored the museum, and is instead eagerly anticipating the opening of the upcoming New Science Centre, which is slated to open in 2027 in the Jurong Lake District, according to a press release by the Science Centre Board.
“I think I would probably just wait for the New Science Centre to open, because I feel like there’s already not much to see or do at the current Science Centre."