ArtScience Museum

The ArtScience Museum opened in 2011 beside Marina Bay Sands, and its shape, often compared to a lotus flower or an open hand, was designed by architect Moshe Safdie. The building sits on the edge of the bay and is one of the most recognisable on the skyline. Inside, its galleries stage exhibitions that explore where art, science, culture and technology meet.

The long-running anchor is Future World, an immersive digital installation created with the Japanese art collective teamLab. Its rooms of projected light and sound respond to movement and touch, and children can draw creatures that are scanned and released into a digital landscape. Alongside it, the museum runs a changing programme of temporary exhibitions, and recent offerings have included a deep-sea themed installation and a show on the relationship between humans and other forms of life. Check the website before you go to see what is currently showing, as the line-up changes through the year.

The museum is open daily from 9am to 6pm, with last entry and the box office closing at 5pm. Entering the building itself is free, but each exhibition is ticketed separately, so you can choose one or combine several. Booking online in advance is sensible at weekends and during school holidays, when Future World in particular gets busy. On Fridays, each adult ticket includes free entry for up to four children under 12, except on public holidays and during Singapore school holidays.

Families get the most out of a visit, as the interactive exhibits hold children's attention for a long time, but couples and solo visitors with an interest in design or digital art will also find plenty to look at. Allow around two hours for Future World and a second exhibition. The galleries are air-conditioned, which makes this a useful stop during the hottest part of the day.

Bayfront MRT station is about seven minutes' walk away from Exit D, and the Marina Bay Sands Theatre bus stop is nearby. Taxis drop off at The Shoppes, about seven minutes' walk away. The museum sits on the waterfront promenade, so it is easy to combine with a walk across the Helix Bridge, a look at the Merlion across the bay, or an evening at Gardens by the Bay, which is reached through Marina Bay Sands.