Angelita Teo, director of the National Museum of Singapore, wears her strengths and weaknesses on two slim, silvery bangles on her right wrist. Engraved on the bands, gifts from her family, are “Patience” and “Be present” – reminders to balance her insatiable curiosity and zest for life.

“Because I get very excited by things I can also get a bit impatient,” says the 44-year-old. The other bangle is a prompt to make sure her mind doesn’t drift off on a tangent.

“I’m one of those people who, if a door opens, I need to poke my head through – I cannot resist it! I tend to explore opportunities that land before me without turning them down first. I’m always looking for new things to do and new ways of doing things, because I don’t think we should stick to something just because we’re familiar with it.”

Besides heading the National Museum, Teo has, since the start of this year, been overseeing community events for the National Heritage Board, such as the Singapore Night Festival and the Museum Roundtable, which pools the resources of public and private museums to promote public interest.

Of her Heritage Board duties she says, “It sounds like a lot more work, but in reality I see it as an opportunity to leverage and streamline things.”

An example is the upcoming Children’s Season, a programme of activities for the June school holidays to be held at museums across the island.

The push to attract younger audiences has been a focal point for the National Museum since Teo became its director in July 2013. She considers it an important target for the museum, especially since the S$10-million (Bt260-million) revamp of its permanent galleries was completed in September.

“In order for the museum to attract a new audience, that audience has to be younger,” she reasons, and she’s adamant that a child’s first experience of the museum shouldn’t be for “a worksheet they have to complete”, but preferably on a family outing, so they “associate the museum with being fun and a bit warm and fuzzy”.

In 2014 Teo opened Play@NMS, an area for kids aged three to seven with interactive exhibits, and Children’s Season activities now spill out of the galleries into common spaces and the front lawn. “We’re not afraid that kids will come in and run around and make noise – we’re quite open to that!”

Play@NMS closed in December but will return later this year as an improved, enlarged family wing, swapping spaces with the office spread over two floors. Teo says it will be a treat for everyone in the family, right up to the grandparents.

Among the many other “exciting things I can’t wait to be completed”, Teo mentions a new installation by Suzann Victor to replace her much-loved red chandeliers above the link bridge in the museum and a new gallery-cum-restaurant.

The chandeliers were only scheduled for routine maintenance, but new possibilities arose when Teo spoke with the artist. The result is new chandeliers made of Swarovski crystal instead of glass with which visitors will be able to interact, choosing the way they swing and how the lights change colour.

Victor praises Teo for turning a “routine problem-solving exercise” into an “exciting journey”.

The idea of serving up art as well as food in what was formerly Chef Chan’s Restaurant sprang from another meeting of minds. Companies and individuals are keen to host events in the museum, which they see as an interesting, alternative space, while the museum is eager to work with up-and-coming creative talents.

ADDING TO THE many wonderful memories Her Majesty the Queen will be recalling as her seventh-cycle birthday approaches in August, an exhibition has just opened in her honour at the Queen Savang Vadhana Museum – in the palace where she and His Majesty the King were married.

The exhibition “Sappatamawat Borom Khattiya Rajininat” – which continues through March 31 – reviews her creative endeavours and their tradition-steeped inspirations.

Srapratum Palace was the home of Queen Savang, His Majesty’s grandmother. On an open-air terrace adjoining her living quarters, Their Majesties took their wedding vows and received her formal blessings on April 28, 1950.

The museum has done a remarkable job of encapsulating the immense amount of work undertaken by Queen Sirikit and the multitude of projects she initiated. To cover all the ground, it’s made good use of modern technology, displaying objects matched to QR (quick response) codes that can be scanned so that explanatory text, photos and video and audio clips can be viewed on tablets that are provided along with audio-tour headsets.

Credit for the wealth of fascinating additional visual and aural information presented electronically goes to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who chairs the Queen Savang Vadhana Foundation. Chavalee Amatyakul, her deputy private secretary, says with a smile that she works for “the IT princess”.

In the first section, “”Pratumnivasrajapravati”, one wall is covered in photographs documenting Her Majesty’s life and duties and postage stamps bearing Their Majesties’ portraits. Most of these images have a QR code, and among the treasures shared is a short film of the wedding in 1960.

The second section has more about the royal duties and gives testimony to the Queen’s dedication to the people’s wellbeing. It’s notable that Queen Savang chaired the Thai Red Cross Society from 1920 to 1946 and that Queen Sirikit has held that role since 1956.

Her Majesty’s kindness is evident in many displays. Her efforts for the Red Cross extended to lending a hand to the masses of Cambodian refugees who had poured into Thailand by 1979. The QR code here summons an interview with Princess Sirindhorn about her and the Queen’s work at Baan Khao Lan in Trat.

“There were many people starving, injured and dying,” you hear the Princess saying. “Some of the foreign assistance came in the form of instant foods, but we gave them normal meals to help gradually bring them back their health. When they got better, we sent teachers so they could learn work skills and the children could have lessons. We consulted with Rambhai Barni Rajabhat University to bring the people the knowledge they’d need to start again.”

Chavalee was there at the refugee camp with the royal mother and daughter. “They travelled to the camp in Trat as soon as she heard about the situation, on May 26, 1979. I had followed Thanpuying Suprapada Kasemsan and Thanpuying Charungchit Teekara to the camp in advance. We had to go to the market to prepare food for the refugees, such as boiled rice with pork. We did this every day for almost a month, and the children went from being very thin to being stronger and with brighter hope in their eyes.”

Among the video clips are brief interviews with other palace officials sharing their recollections of historical events.

Her Majesty’s royal projects delved into clothing design and environmental preservation, but she is chiefly admired for supporting indigent arts and crafts through her Support Foundation, which since 1976 has been based at the Chitralada Royal Villa and Garden on the grounds of Dusit Palace.

There are startling comparisons of objects from Queen Savang’s time and the “modern” variations produced by the Support Foundation. These include a yan lipao handbag inspired by a venerable betel-nut serving tray, and room partitions – one ornately carved in days gone by and the other, more recent, adorned with panels of hand-stitched bird and floral motifs.

A video clip has Queen Sirikit explaining how she derived inspiration from Queen Savang’s lipao betel box and cupboards decorated with the lustrous wings of beetles.

Replicas of Hanuman and Dhosakan masks from Royal Khon performances are displayed in the centre of the hall with a scanner code for viewing video of both a performance and the process by which the masks were made.

The last segment of the exhibition, “Phra Khun Pisitasapsakol”, examines Her Majesty’s role as Thailand’s “first lady” on the international stage.

The exhibition is as impressive as it is comprehensive. Visitors are well advised to arrive with plenty of time to spend at the museum. There is much to learn – and much to enjoy.

MAGICAL MEMORIES

– The Queen Savang Vadhana Museum is open from 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday. The entrance is near the Siam Kempinski Hotel.

– Attire must be appropriate to the palace. Women should wear skirts. You won’t get in wearing sleeveless tops, shorts or all-black outfits.

– Admission is Bt150 (Bt50 for students). Advance reservations are required. Call (02) 252 1965-7.