Play old-school games at Jurong Bird Park
Take the kids on a trip down memory lane at Jurong Bird Park, which has several retro-themed events and promotions for the June holidays.
On weekends through June 28, families can participate in traditional games such as chapteh and kuti kuti at game stations located around the park. Don’t miss the Snakes and Ladders station, where you’ll get to play a larger-than-life version of the classic game on a jumbo-sized board. You can collect coupons at each station to redeem attractive prizes.
Exercise your brain at the park’s treasure hunt, where everyone in the family is invited to solve a series of clues along a vintage-themed trail. Or, for something less cerebral, sit back and watch the tale of legendary founder Sang Nila Utama come alive in an interactive show-and-tell.
Don’t forget to take grandma and grandpa along as well – from now until June 30, senior citizens aged 60 and above enjoy free admission into the park, as part of its cheekily-named Lao Jiao (Hokkien for “veteran”) promotion. Standard entry fees ($28 for adults, $18 for children) apply for the rest of the family, but you’ll get to sign up for a year-long membership for the price of your one-day ticket. Find out more at www.birdpark.com.sg.
Get creative at the Singapore Art Museum
The Singapore Art Museum’s contemporary art exhibition for children, Imaginarium: A Voyage of Big Ideas, is back. This year, expect a series of interactive art installations by Singaporean and regional artists that will spark your child’s imagination, as the exhibition has been specially curated to cater to how children learn and play.
Junior can pretend to be a young architect at We Built This Estate!, an installation consisting of huge, colourful Tetris-shaped blocks that he can use to create his own ‘housing estates’. Another work, Green II: Interstellar Overdrive, centres on energy sources. Far from dull, it comes alive when Junior pedals stationary bikes that in turn light up objects like a constellation of stars and text on the wall.
Admission to the exhibition, which runs through July 19, is free for Singapore citizens and permanent residents; learn more at www.singaporeartmuseum.sg.
Try longkang fishing at Orto
Opened last December, this multi-facility leisure park offers a variety of activities for the family. Let your child experience longkang fishing, an old-school way of fishing in a shallow pond using just a plastic tank and fishing net. Or reel in your own seafood for dinner, as the park also offers 24-hour prawning and fishing.
Get active with the family at the Uber Sports futsal field or go wild with a game of paintball at Red Dynasty Paintball Park. Enjoy views of the lake from The Lakehouse or stroll along the open-air promenade. Then, wind down with a meal at any of Orto’s F&B outlets, such as Chinese seafood restaurant Long Jiang Chinos and Thai BBQ outlet Mookata.
Admission to the park is free; visit www.orto.sg for activity charges.
Enjoy a picnic at a My Little Pony-themed party
Your little girl won’t want to miss toy company Hasbro’s My Little Pony Friend-tastic Picnic Party, where she’ll get to watch My Little Pony cartoons while munching on delicious finger food. Besides the screenings, she’ll get to participate in themed games, customise her own My Little Pony stamp at a stampmaking booth, and even meet-and-greet her favourite characters from the series.
The picnic will be held on June 27, from 2pm to 7pm, at Grand Lawn 1 at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Admission is free, but do remember to register at this link before turning up.
Learn more about deep-sea animals at the ArtScience Museum
Your young scientist will be mesmerised by over 40 photos and fossils of mysterious marine animals at The Deep, a new exhibition that supposedly houses the largest collection of deep-sea creatures ever displayed in Southeast Asia. Some of the rare specimens on display include the threadfin snailfish and dumbo octopus – extremely elusive creatures that live on the ocean floor.
The exhibition, which is divided into eight themed zones that reflect the different depths of the ocean, is presented in a pitch-black environment, so you and Junior will almost feel as though you’re immersed thousands of metres under the sea. Now, how’s that for a novel experience?
Tickets to The Deep cost $12 for adults and $8 for children, and can be purchased from www.marinabaysands.com/museum/ticketing.html.