18 January 2020
The event is over.
Wilkes Expedition: The Remarkable Story of the last All-Sail Naval Squadron to Circumnavigate the World and its stop in Singapore
18 Jan 2020
11:00am – 12:30pm
Level 5, Possibility Room
Join Dr Vidya Schalk as she takes us on the extraordinary journey of the Wilkes Expedition, the last all-sail powered naval squadron to circumnavigate the globe from 1838 to 1842. Led by Lt. Charles Wilkes, the US Exploring Expedition collected and catalogued thousands of artefacts, plants and animals that eventually became Smithsonian’s foundation collection.
The expedition visited Singapore in 1842 and along the way picked up rare Malay and Bugis manuscripts among other documents, including several letters addressed to William Farquhar. In 1865, the Smithsonian transferred these materials to the Library of Congress, where they reside today.
Speaker
Dr. Vidya Schalk trained as a research scientist and has a unique background that combines science, art and history. Besides being a docent at various museums in Singapore, including the Asian Civilisations Museum, National Museum of Singapore, STPI and National Gallery, Vidya also teaches at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her interest in scientific explorations has led her to research 19th century naval expeditions.