Science Centre
Everytime a local would tell us about the Science Centre Singapore, we were like 'Oh, yeah, we have a place called Scienceworks in Melbourne, really great, went there all the time... we might check out the Singapore one'. No biggie, been there done that. Then with 4 days off school/work we got bored, so we took advantage of the Chinese New Year public holiday and took the cab out to Jurong East on the other side of the island. And it was AWESOME. Probably best for kids aged 4+, Frankie still had fun running around like a maniac, but we did have to move through some areas quicker than we would have liked to accommodate her. Entry is pretty cheap, only SGD$23 for the family, and a yearly membership is only SGD$50.
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| Entry area to the Science Centre - Optical Illusions! |
Upon entry, there is a large optical illusion area which is a fun way to get the kids straight into it, as they love a visual trick! The main difference with Scienceworks in Melbourne is the size - massive - there were enough things in each area so that it wasn't too crowded... and dare I say the exhibitions were a little more fun too?
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| Where are his legs???? Oscar thought this was hilarious. |
Although they still demonstrate Science, I found they were all fun to do as well, whereas at Scienceworks, some displays demonstrate the science excellently, but have a bit of a 'meh' factor to them. There was a giant lighting rod we didn't see in action, then a sound exhibition which we all loved - and my hearing is superb by the way! We then went through to the toddler area, where my favourite bit was in incubator showing chicken eggs at various stages - there were about 20 eggs there due to hatch that day, and a few brand new chicks there straight out of the shell - very cute.
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| MASSIVE outdoor water area. |
But, with the heat, and kids, the highlight is of course, the WATER AREA! Yes, there were science bit too it to, but who cares, there is WATER, and you GET WET. Take your togs. Will be heading back for this alone, and to explore all the other bits we missed out on - probably only really saw about 1/3 of it in the 2 hours we were there. The only issue is lack of decent food - not sure if it was because it was a public holiday, but it looked like there was a hawker style cafe there that was closed... leaving our only other option as McDonalds - oh well, the kids were happy!
School
School started for Oscar - he hates it : ( He is feeling a bit stressed out as he doesn't know all the games they play at lunchtime and can't remember anyone's name. But it has only been one week, so we are hoping things will look up! He likes the actual classes - he gets to do swimming once a week, and music, drama and art as well as Mandarin twice a week, and Unit of Enquiry each day (as we selected a Primary Years Program IB school, just like we had in Melbs!). His challenge this week is to learn one name each day - I think that is achievable - and it will hopefully make him feel a bit more comfortable talking to all the other kids.
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| Chinese New Year Celebrations at school |
We generally avoided the whole Chinese New Year celebrations in Singapore as we moved into our new Condo that weekend, and were all a bit tired and still getting settled. The New Year period goes for about 2 weeks, and at the end of it they did have a performance at his school, with lots of kids dressed in the CNY costumes (mainly red which symbolizes joy and is also used to frighten away the mythical Nien, a beast that was believed to steal food and livestock and attack children), and a Dragon Dance to scare away the evil spirits and bring luck for the new year (there was once of these at our condo the weekend before too). Frankie loves them as the dragons eat mandarin oranges (which symbolize sweetness and good fortune) and then throw the peel everywhere - including a theatrical 'pooping of the peel'!
Recently we've been in the water a lot... so some fun stuff we've been doing with the kids coming up soon!
x Amelia
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