After making headlines last year for its struggle to find a new home amidst the Jurong Lake makeover, followed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s personal Facebook response to help, The Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum has finally secured a space at Orto in Yishun. That’s the leisure park that took over Bottle Tree Park, for those of you who actively avoid the infamous neighborhood.
Leaving behind its 18-year nest at the Chinese Garden, the museum will shutter its current location when the new site is ready — which could be as soon as two weeks, after getting over a few bumps and delays, owner Connie Tan told Channel NewsAsia.
Some quick background if you’re not caught up: The museum’s already-extended lease at the Chinese Garden was about to expire in March this year, but after an online plea directed at PM Lee, Tan received a reprieve from government agencies.
According to The Straits Times, the Yishun spot will be about 10 percent larger, with bigger pens for the 500 turtles, tortoises, and terrapins in the museum’s stable.
However, even with construction either sponsored or slashed to cost price, Tan’s $600,000 budget still requires her to fork out about $200,000 on her end. CNA reported that she’s raised $30,000 to date, which puts her at $180,000 short.
So to ease the museum’s financial strain, Tan announced that entrance fees at Orto would be hiked up from $5 to $10 for Singaporean citizens, $14 for foreign visitors, and $6 for children and senior citizens. The money would be used to cover the increase in rent, construction costs, new amenities, and general maintenance work, she said, in an appeal to the public for donations.
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