Race Against Rising Prices And Brave A ‘Storm’: Grab Your Friends And Play Your Way Through The Secret Vault At New Bahru 

One minute, you’re scanning groceries as prices climb. Next, you’re stepping into simulated wind and rain or trying to “grow” a digital garden. It’s part game, part immersive experience – and definitely not your typical finance exhibition.

The Secret Vault is a free, brand-new interactive experience running from now until Nov 1 at New Bahru’s School Hall on Level 2. It is organised by GIC, a global institutional investor that invests Singapore’s reserves (the country’s accumulated savings and assets) for the long term. 

Spread across six chambers, the experience turns concepts like inflation, risk and long-term planning into challenges you can see, feel and play through for yourself.

Come with friends, work your way through the different rooms and you might just pick up a thing or two about the story behind Singapore’s reserves.

Start with a story straight out of a spy movie

Did you know that Singapore once pulled off a secret gold deal in 1968, using a torn US dollar bill? 

The bold move by former Deputy Prime Minister and founding member of GIC, Dr Goh Keng Swee, sounds straight out of a spy movie, but it was part of the nation’s efforts to secure financial stability during the early years of our independence. 

At The Archive, the first chamber within The Secret Vault, rummage through drawers filled with documents and artefacts to uncover the full story and other moments from Singapore’s early financial history. 

You can also pick up a vintage phone to hear a mix of actual recordings and reenactments from GIC founding members such as former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Yong Pung How, who share their philosophies around safeguarding and investing in Singapore’s reserves.

See how fast inflation eats into your budget

Next stop: The Global Inflation Hypermart. In this chamber, prepare your smartphones for a shopping simulation challenge as you and your friends are given a shopping list and have to hunt down every item on the shelves. 

The catch? As you shop, the years keep ticking by and prices rise with inflation.

Once you’re done, your final bill shows just how much less the same budget can buy over time – which makes the impact of inflation feel a lot more real than any graph ever could.

The interactive game exemplifies how saving and growing reserves is important not only for Singapore as a country, but for our own financial journeys as well.

Step into 45 years of ups and downs

Things get a little more dramatic inside The Weather Room, where major financial headlines from the past 45 years scroll past accompanied by changing audiovisual weather effects. 

The atmosphere shifts from brighter, sunnier moments to gusts of wind and rain effects, creating a sense of moving through calmer and more turbulent financial eras. Don’t worry, though – no umbrella or sunglasses required. 

The idea is simple: instead of just reading about periods of global uncertainty, you get to feel the atmosphere change around you. It’s a reminder that while no one can predict every storm ahead, being prepared makes a difference. 

Spot risks hiding in plain sight 

Then grab a torch and enter The Steward’s Gardens, where the challenge is to navigate a glowing UV-lit maze and uncover risks that aren’t immediately visible. 

Make it through and you’ll find yourself in a luminous digital garden, where you can use a watering can to “water” projected flowers and watch the landscape gradually come to life – a visual take on patience, spotting risks and allowing things to grow over time.

Take a spin around GIC’s investment world

At The Globe, tap and swipe your way around an interactive projection to explore GIC’s investment portfolio across markets, industries and different parts of the world – including brands you might recognise.

Through all of these interactive activities, The Secret Vault demonstrates topics like financial planning and national money reserves can become fun and exciting experiences for everyone to enjoy. 

As GIC’s chief executive officer Lim Chow Kiat puts it, “The principles that guide us, including thinking long-term, staying resilient through uncertainty, managing risk, as well as having the conviction to act in uncertain times, are as relevant to the choices young Singaporeans make as they plan for their own futures.”

End by looking ahead

As you come to the end of the exhibition, take a moment to reflect on what you have experienced in The Reserves of Tomorrow. Write out your hopes for the future on a touch-screen kiosk, then watch your answer appear across a mirrored screen.

Snap a selfie with it if you like, before collecting an exclusive keychain charm designed in collaboration with artists from non-profit arts organisation ART:DIS as memento of the experience.