May 06, 12:40 AM 
514 Chai Chee Lane 03-16, Singapore 469029 Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Singapore's first standalone natural history museum, will not be opening later this year as previously planned.
[caption width="150" align="alignright"]
Prof Peter Ng
Source[/caption]
Its opening has been postponed to the first quarter of 2015, in an apparent attempt to coincide with the the National University of Singapore's 110th anniversary and Singapore's 50th birthday.
However, what has been confirmed is that Professor Peter Ng, a crab expert, has been appointed the museum's chief for the next two years.
The 54-year-old is one of the key figures behind the setting up of the new museum.
Previously, for the past 16 years, Prof Ng was director of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research -- the predecessor of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.
In 2010, Prof Ng and his mentor Leo Tan launched a bid to turn the Raffles Museum into the first standalone natural history museum here.
They raised $60 million by January last year to build a seven-storey building on NUS campus and bought three near-complete dinosaur fossils from the United States.
When it is operational, the museum expects up to 900 visitors a day and will have team of 40 staff members.
There are plans to raise another $50 million for operations to run the place.
The museum will be free for NUS students and staff.
Related articles:
A 400kg crocodile died at Kranji Reservoir. It was disposed of instead of preserved in a museum.
One more year to getting up close to the bones of dinosaurs
Top photo from here
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.