Marina Bay's latest attractions

Marina Bay's latest attractions

VISITORS can expect to be wowed by a visual feast on display at a new gallery that traces Marina Bay's development, and by a new promenade there. These are the latest attractions of the bay, which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hopes will become as symbolic of Singapore as the Bund is of Shanghai.

The Marina Bay City Gallery's centrepiece is an interactive model of Singapore's city centre, including areas like Raffles Place and Marina Bay.

The model, mounted on a glass tabletop measuring 10.4m by 6.5m, is illuminated by a light-emitting diode (LED) screen underneath. Every 20 minutes, the LED screen provides a two-minute visual display that depicts Marina Bay from dawn to nightfall, to a soundtrack of original music and sounds recorded from the bay.

Visitors can use the touch-activated information panels on the tabletop to light up 20 landmarks, like the Singapore Flyer and the Marina Bay Financial Centre. The gallery also has other interactive touch-screens that tell visitors more about the bay.

Eco-friendly features have been incorporated into the gallery, such as solar panels on the roof which along with other solar panels on three new shelters along the bay supply 10 per cent of the power for the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade.

Admission is free to the $10-million gallery, located along Marina Boulevard and run by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The gallery is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays, and is closed on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays. Both the gallery and promenade were opened yesterday by Mr Lee.

The 3.5km promenade includes the waterfronts along the Esplanade, Clifford Pier and a newly developed 1.5km stretch along Marina Boulevard and Marina Bay Sands.

-News courtesy of Omy-