science

Merlion

Merlion is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Merlion rather than just read about it. In short: The Merlion ( ) is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish.

Key takeaways

Merlion belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Merlion to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Merlion from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Merlion ( ) is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Being of prominent symbolic nature to Singapore and Singaporeans in general, it is widely used to represent both the city state and its people in sports teams, advertising, branding, tourism and as a national personification. The Merlion was first used in Singapore as the logo for the tourism board. Its name combines "mer", meaning the sea, and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name—Singapura—meaning "lion city" or "kota singa". The symbol was designed by Alec Fraser-Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in use from 26 March 1964 to 1997 and has been its trademarked symbol since 20 July 1966. Although the STB changed their logo in 1997, the STB Act continues to protect the Merlion symbol. Approval must be received from STB before it can be used. The Merlion frequently appears on STB-approved souvenirs.

History

The sea-lion, a heraldic beast of similar appearance to the Merlion, has long been used in the heraldry of Europe and its colonies. However, it is distinct from the Merlion and was not used to symbolize Singapore prior to the design of the Merlion. The Merlion was conceptualised by the vice-chancellor Kwan Sai Kheong of the University of Singapore and constructed from November 1971 to August 1972 by sculptor Lim Nang Seng. It measures 8.6 metres high and weighs 70 tons. The project cost about S$165,000.

On 15 September 1972, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew officiated the installation ceremony of the Merlion statue. The original statue stood at the mouth of the Singapore River in Merlion Park. The completion of the Esplanade Bridge in 1997 blocked the views of the Merlion from the Marina Bay waterfront. The location of the Merlion was also no longer at the entrance of Singapore River due to land reclamation works and also not sprouting water due to a water pump malfunction in 1998, requiring maintenance works on it. To give the Merlion an unblocked view of the Singapore River, it was suggested to raise the Merlion on a pedestal at its original location. It was deemed unsuitable as the view would still be blocked by the bridge. The other solution was to relocate the Merlion to other places. Possible relocation sites considered included 120 metres away at a new Merlion Park, Nicoll Highway Extension Bridge, Esplanade Park, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, a promontory at Marina Centre (near where the Singapore Flyer is located now), a promontory site at Bayfront (near the tip of Marina Bay Sands integrated resort) and Kim Seng Park. A new Merlion Park, 120 metres away, on a newly reclaimed promontory in front of the Fullerton Hotel with a Merlion Pier was chosen after the other relocation choices were either unsuitable or not technically feasible. The relocation took two days, from 23 to 25 April 2002. A carefully engineered journey required one barge, two DEMAG AC1600S cranes of 5000 tonnes lifting capacity, plus a team of 20 engineers and workers on site. The entire statue was hoisted onto the barge, which then sailed to the new installation site at the current Merlion Park, near the mouth of Singapore River. During the voyage, the statue had to be hoisted from the barge, over the Esplanade Bridge and then back onto the barge, as it was too tall to pass underneath. Exactly 30 years after he officially unveiled the Merlion, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew returned on 15 September 2002 to ceremonially welcome the statue again, this time in its new home. A viewing deck now stretches over the Singapore River, allowing visitors to pose for a photograph with a front or side view of the Merlion, including a new city skyline backdrop in the picture. The sculpture was aligned to face East, a direction advised to be most auspicious. Relocated, the statue once more spouted water from its mouth. The Merlion now has a new two-unit water pump system with units working alternatively, so a backup is always on standby. The relocation and new site (four times larger than the original) cost S$7.5 million.

From 5 June till 10 July 2006, the Merlion at Merlion Park underwent maintenance. The last one was right after its relocation. Dirt and stains were removed using high-pressure water streams, and various wear and tear of the statue was mended.During that period, visitors were greeted with illustrated hoardings and canvases covering the safety nets and scaffolding. The illustrations were designed by Miel, an award-winning senior artist at The Straits Times. The illustration on the canvases made them look like shower curtains, with the Merlion sticking its head out with the shadow of its tail behind the curtain. The illustration on the hoardings showed the Merlion scrubbing himself with a brush and showering using a Merlion shower head spouting water. The Merlion said, "EXCUSE ME while I take a shower..." in a speech bubble. The Merlion on Sentosa was designed and sculpted by an Australian Artist named James Martin. It is made of Glass Reinforced Cement over a steel armature that is attached to the centre. The Merlion Park was temporarily turned into a single-unit hotel suite, as part of an artwork by Tatzu Nishi, for the duration of the 2011 Singapore Biennale.

Lightning strike incident On Saturday, 28 February 2009, between 4 pm and 5 pm, the Merlion in the Merlion Park was struck by lightning. The mane was cracked and a hole formed at the base of the statue from falling debris. Examination of the damage was done quickly with wooden scaffolding set up on Sunday, 1 March 2009 for workers to take a closer look at the hole. The incident happened as a result of the lack of lightning protection on the Merlion itself. It was restored and reopened on 18 March 2009.

Merlion statues

There are six Merlion statues in Singapore which are approved by the STB:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Merlion

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Merlion claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Merlion before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Merlion ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Merlion

In research: Merlion appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Merlion in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Merlion is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1964 establishments in Singapore, 1972 sculptures, Concrete sculptures, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Merlion outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Merlion in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Merlion means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Merlion out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Merlion in simple terms?

The Merlion ( ) is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish.

Why does Merlion matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Merlion?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Merlion.