The Singapore Herbarium is a specialised research facility which safeguards an extensive preserved collection of plants and fungi. The Singapore Botanic Gardens has launched its most ambitious digitalisation project to date, aiming to create an online database of approximately 800,000 herbarium specimens by 2027. This initiative coincides with 2025 being the 150th anniversary of the Singapore Herbarium and the 10th anniversary of the Gardens' UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

 

About the Event

Date: 29 October 2025 to 28 August 2026
Venue: Level 1, Botany Centre, Viewing gallery at the Singapore Herbarium
Nearest Entrance: Tanglin Gate (Napier MRT)
Open weekdays, 9am – 5pm

Closed on weekends and Public Holidays

Admission is free

The digitalisation process involves specimens being unpacked from storage boxes, barcoded, placed on a conveyor belt and photographed, then carefully returned to the boxes in their original order. All information captured on specimen labels including collection dates, locations, habitat notes, and vernacular names will be subsequently transcribed from the digitalised specimens. Upon completion, this will become the largest online database of specimens housed in Southeast Asia, enabling researchers and the public worldwide to access high-resolution images and associated data for biodiversity research, conservation work, and studies of extinct or undescribed species.

Visitors can observe this digitalisation process through the world's first live viewing gallery for a herbarium digitalisation initiative. The gallery features the exhibition "Pressed in Pixels: Digitalising the Singapore Herbarium", which showcases the variety of specimens housed in the collection, explains how plant specimens are made and why they are important, and demonstrates how they are transformed into digital copies. Visitors can also try their hands at interactive family-friendly activities. Through this exhibition, we aim to reinforce the vital role that plants, herbaria, and botanists play in understanding plant diversity and conservation.
  

About the Garden City Fund

The Garden City Fund is a registered charity and Institution of a Public Character (IPC) established by the National Parks Board in 2002. The Fund works with corporations, organisations and individuals to better engage members of the public through conservation efforts, research, outreach and education. In doing so, we hope to cultivate a sense of ownership and encourage the community to play its part in preserving Singapore’s legacy as a lush and vibrant City in Nature.

If you would like to support our project, please visit: https://go.gov.sg/donateherbarium

 

Observe the digitalisation process happening live in front of you

 

Staff removing herbarium specimen sheets that have been digitalised (Credit: Ethan Eng)

 

 

Look through magnifying glasses to spot traits that help botanists to identify different species that look similar

 

Play with kaleidoscopes filled with seeds, leaves and flowers, and piece together your own magnetic herbarium specimen!