SINGAPORE — From a Japanese tank to a handful of white sand, National Museum of Singapore’s revamped Singapore History Gallery will have some unique objects on display when it opens on Saturday.

The former is a replica of the Type 95 Ha-Go, the most common Japanese tank used during World War II; and was, incidentally, one of the four tanks constructed for the HBO television mini-series The Pacific, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

Meanwhile, the white sand, on loan from archaeologist John Miksic, dates back to the 14th century — a layer was discovered here during an archaeological dig.

These are just some of the 1,700 artefacts that will be found across the museum’s permanent galleries, which will open to the public after a S$10 million facelift that began last year. The other revamped spaces are the Life In Singapore: The Past 100 Years galleries as well as the Goh Seng Choo Gallery. The latter galleries will focus on personal histories (and includes a Raleigh bicycle previously owned by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a present given to him on his 11th birthday) as well as works from the William Farquhar Collection, respectively.

At the museum’s opening weekend carnival, visitors can also go on guided tours and indulge in other fun activities, including story-telling sessions and dressing up in vintage costumes.

The galleries’ new look will include interesting innovations, such as 12 interactive stations and 60 multimedia stations, for a more immersive experience for visitors.

“Innovative displays, interactive elements and compelling personal stories make history and the artefacts come to life, and through them, we hope that visitors will form a greater emotional connection to the museum and to Singapore’s history,” said Angelita Teo, the museum’s director.

The Singapore History Gallery has undergone a major revamp, with its main entrance moved to the first floor, replacing artist Matthew Ngui’s video wall near the escalators. Its original entrance, the glass rotunda with the spiral walkway, is set to be transformed into a multi-media space, the details of which will be revealed later on.

The new layout will be “more direct and more intuitive”, said curator Daniel Tham from the museum’s Curation & Collections department. The more “straightforward” path kicks off with an animated version of a 1570 map by cartographer Abraham Ortelius while the first artefact visitors will see, the fragment of the Singapore Stone, is recontextualised and presented in a display case approximating the bigger boulders the British had seen at the mouth of the Singapore River.

According to Tham, the museum had also tried to “fill in the gaps” in history, in particular the period between the 14th century and the arrival of Stamford Raffles. “Over the past decade, a lot of scholars have now been focusing on the 15th and 16th century,” said Tham.

A few previous artefacts have also been given more prominence in the gallery’s new layout, such as the anchor from the RMS Empress Of Asia troopship and a door from Changi Prison.

The immersive feel in the permanent galleries is underscored by a few innovations, including scent stations that include that of the tembusu tree and the old polluted Singapore River. The Singapore History Gallery will likewise include two interactive elements: An interactive map that contains personal stories taken from the Singapore Memory Project, and a commissioned multimedia installation titled GoHead/GoStan: Panorama Singapura by artists Brandon Tay and Safuan Johari.

Among the artefacts and new museum elements that had previously been announced were a zoetrope inspired by Singapore’s first female Olympian, a 1959 flexidisc of Majulah Singapura and an Object Theatre hologram section incorporating the personal belongings of one of Singapore’s founding fathers, S Rajaratnam. Mayo Martin

The National Museum of Singapore’s opening weekend carnival will be on Sept 19 and 20, 10am to 7pm. Free admission. For more information, visit http://www.nationalmuseum.sg