Chinatown Heritage Centre is an ethnographic museum at 48 Pagoda Street in Chinatown, rated 4.6 from 4,461 Google reviews. Its website describes three restored shophouses with 1950s interiors recreated to show how early residents lived, and lists hours of 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, last entry 7:15 PM.
Heritage museums like this work best at a slow pace, so allow more time than you think and read the short panels, which often carry the personal stories behind the objects. Check whether any guided tours or talks run on the day you plan to visit, and book ahead on busy weekends, as places like this often limit numbers per time slot. Families with children often get the most from walking through the rooms themselves, while adults tend to gain more from the captions and the wider history.
Its spot in the heart of Chinatown, a minute's walk from Chinatown MRT, makes it an easy stop before exploring the surrounding streets.