How My Museum Journey Shaped Little Changemakers
Before founding The Little Changemakers, I spent almost a decade at the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum as an educator and lead for access programmes. Those years profoundly shaped how I design experiences today, not just as an educator, but as a designer, interpreter, and innovator.
As a museum educator, I sought various perspectives in curatorial research, interpreting content, and translating it into learning objectives and outcomes for diverse audiences, including schoolchildren, seniors, professionals, and accessibility groups. I loved the challenge of designing for diversity: finding ways for everyone to see themselves in the story.
My favourite part of the job was designing interactive zones where people could learn through hands-on experience and play. These were not just spaces to observe, but to feel, explore, and respond.
Mulan’s Adventure (Children Season’s)
I was always drawn to activities that elicited emotional responses, moments when visitors laughed, reflected, or connected the story to their own lives.
Terracotta Warriors AR Gaming in 2011 (iPhone 3)
And these experiences cannot be designed without empathy. Every creative decision, from material choice to pacing and facilitation, begins with understanding how someone else might feel, perceive, and engage. It’s about crafting experiences that invite participation rather than instruction, connection rather than consumption.
What distinguishes The Little Changemakers today is that we carry forward that same museum discipline — we don’t just create programmes; we deep dive into content research. Each experience is built on an additional layer of meaning, inspired by authentic stories and cultural insights.
Reminiscence programme for seniors at National Museum Singapore
Take our reminiscence programme, for example, which we run twice a month at the National Museum of Singapore. The conversations, activities, and crafts are all rooted in curatorial content and historical research, designed to evoke memory, emotion, and shared connection.
That philosophy: blending education, wellness, and design thinking, guides everything we do. Whether we are co-creating wellness crafts for seniors, sensory kits for children, or community activations for all ages, we design with empathy and intention. Our goal remains simple yet profound: to make learning accessible, meaningful, and deeply human.
“When people feel, they remember.
When they connect, they grow.”
What began in museum galleries now extends to classrooms, care centres, and community spaces — where learning continues through hands, hearts, and shared stories.
