Category: fun for kids in Singapore

My kids have rounded up their Top 10 favourite activities here in our little red dot. We are not that boring after all. (Singapore, I mean. My kids will tell you that our family is really boring.)

1) Sentosa

Our island resort has seen extensive transformation over the past decade to become Singapore’s bona fide playground for the whole family.

Start the morning by taking the Cable Car over from Mount Faber to enjoy the scenic view. Delve right into the excitement with the Skyline Luge, a non-motorised vehicle using gravity to zoom down the slopes.

During the hottest part of the day, take shelter in 4D AdventureLand where admission fees include unlimited entry to the multi-sensory simulation rides and interactive shoot-out game.

In the evening, head out to Palawan beach where the adults can sit and sip a pina colada while watching the kids play at the beach. Or head over to Port of Lost Wonder, a pirate ship water play area designed with the young kids in mind. For the older kids, get their hearts pumping at the MegaZip Adventure park, Wave House, or Flying Trapeze.

If you prefer something more chi chi, Quayside aisle @ Sentosa Cove is the answer, as you dine within view of million dollar yachts. Satisfy your gastronomic cravings with their wide selection of fine restaurants and casual cafes.

Best suited for: The entire family
Approximate duration: A whole day, or two!

Sane tip: The island resort is also accessible via monorail from Vivocity, by foot along Sentosa Boardwalk, or by car/taxi. Grab a map of Sentosa as the island is divided into segments such as Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), Imbiah Lookout, Palawan Beach, Siloso beach, Sentosa Cove and more.

There are several hotels spread around Sentosa, the most family-friendly being Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa along Siloso Beach which has a kid’s club. Within RWS itself, Festive Hotel offers family rooms, and staying on the island is convenient if you are spending the day at Universal Studios theme park. The older kids would also love Adventure cove, a water park situated within RWS.

Official website: Sentosa

Photo credit: Sentosa

2) KidsSTOP @ Singapore Science Centre

Learn Science in a fun and engaging way at KidsSTOP. Plenty of hands-on experiences including flying an aeroplane, dino pit excavation, pretend play at the supermarket, stop-motion animation, making friends with the feathered, furry and four-legged, and even a two-story climbing structure with mind boggling exhibits.

Best suited for: Ages 2-8
Approximate duration: 2 – 4 hours
Sane tip: Strollers are not allowed inside the premise. Socks are required for some areas.

Official Website: KidsSTOP @ Singapore Science Centre

Older kids can explore the adjoining Science Centre which includes an Omni-max theatre and outdoor water play area.

KidsSTOP

3) River Cruise @ Marina Bay

Swimming (or taking selfies) in the infinity pool on the 57th floor of Marina Bay Sands hotel has attained the ‘must experience before you die’ status. Another fabulous way to soak in the breath-taking Marina bay skyline is to hop aboard a traditional bumboat for a leisurely river cruise.

Best suited for: The entire family
Approximate duration: 40 minutes
Sane tip: Avoid the hottest part of the afternoon

Official Website: Singapore River Cruise

For the younger kids, take them on the Duck Tour which departs from nearby Singapore Flyer, and watch them squeal with delight as the Wacky DUCK bus transforms into a boat and makes a splash into the bay.

Marina Bay

4) Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Get up close and personal with three diplodocid sauropod skeletons nicknamed Prince, Apollonia and Twinky and feel the bone of the edmontosaurus dinosaur which lived 67 million years ago. There are more than a million specimens preserved at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum located on the grounds of the National University of Singapore.

Best suited for: Ages 6 and up
Approximate duration: 2 hours. Longer if the older kids are interested in reading all the information presented.
Sane tip: Tickets have to be pre-bought via Sistic, and collected at their authorised agents, for crowd control. However, they do sell left-over tickets at the door on a first-come-first-serve basis. Call +65 6601 3333 to try your luck!

Official website: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

For history buffs, it is worthwhile to visit the National Museum of Singapore and it has areas dedicated to children. For art enthusiasts, make some time to visit the newly opened National Gallery.

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

5) Parkland Green @ ECP

The East Coast Park (ECP) belt has been transformed with a new stretch of F & B outlets at Parkland Green to enhance the outdoor seaside experience. Have a leisurely tea break with unobstructed view of the beach while your kids play a round of laser tag. If you are feeling active, rent the family bicycle from Lifestyle Bike & Skate which can sit 6. Be prepared to sweat it out, especially if you are the only one paddling your tots!

After all that hard work, reward yourself with a satisfying dinner at East Coast Seafood Centre, and don’t forget to order Singapore’s signature Chilli Crab dish.

Best suited for: The whole family
Approximate duration: Varies
Sane tip: Most of the restaurants are crowded on weekends, make a reservation or have an early dinner.

Photo credit: Mamawearpapashirt.com

6) Trampoline Park

The weather in Singapore is erratic, and if faced with wet weather, let your kids expand their energies at an indoor trampoline park. According to my kids, the trampolines at Amped are bouncier and the large main arena provides sufficient space for stunts like back flips while Zoom Park Asia is more interesting with segregated areas for dodgeball, slam dunk and a rock climbing wall.

Best suited for: Kids of all ages, even the parents!
Approximate duration: Bookings by the hour.
Sane tip: Pre-booking required, and of course, a pair of socks.

Official website: Amped, Zoom Park Asia

Amped @ Jurong

7) Children’s Centre for Creativity

Nestled in the quiet Gillman Barracks off Alexandra road is the Art of Speed, an installation for kids to explore the essence of speed through four different but interconnected sensory and open-ended environments. Build your own cars and zoom them down the slope. The catch is, there is a hurdle right in the middle which the cars have to cross!

Best suited for: Ages 2-12
Approximate duration: 2 hours
Sane tip: Check their website for Busy Times as they may be closed for school bookings.

Official website: Playeum, Children’s Centre for Creativity

Art of Speed

8) Family-friendly dining

Why not incorporate some fun and lovely ambience into your meals? Our latest dining haunts are Brewerkz at Sentosa Boardwalk, and the Open Farm Community.

All time favourites include the award-winning Shunjuu Izakaya Japanese restaurant at the hip yet chill Robertson Quay, and the DIY pancake cafe Slappy Cakes at The Grandstand. (You might like to spend an afternoon at The Grandstand, where the kids can have a spin on the Go-Karts or fidget away at Fidgets World Indoor Playground while mum satisfies her retail craving at Pasarbella, the unique farmer’s market.)

Brewerkz @ Sentosa Boardwalk

9) Gardens by the Bay

Before you leave, don’t forget to make a stop at Gardens by the Bay, winner of several prestigious international awards for creative excellence. Stroll around the beautiful gardens, or pay for admission into the 2 domes with rotational displays.

The highlight of this yuletide season is the Christmas Wonderland attraction, where visitors will be enthralled by the combination of magnificent sculptures of light and sound. Do expect a huge crowd. 

Best suited for: The entire family.
Approximate duration: 2 hours
Sane tip: Savour our local cuisine at Satay by the Bay where there is a wide range of cuisines available, and little tables for the kids. Situated in the corner of Gardens by the Bay. Do go early as it gets crowded at mealtimes.

Official website: Gardens by the Bay

Photo credits: Gardens by the Bay

10) Indoor playgrounds

Besides the usual indoor playgrounds, unleash your child’s creativity at Kaboodle where they can build with giant foam blocks. Located at East Coast Park (visit #5 Parkland Green at the same time). For the under 5s, Hokey Pokey at Millenia walk has a huge array of play things to keep them entertained in a safe environment.

If time permits, other staple tourist attractions include Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and Jurong Bird Park.

Kaboodle at ECP

This post was first published as a guest post on Kuala Lumpur Kids.

~ www.mummyweeblog.com – a blog on parenting 6 kids in Singapore ~ 

We’ve been doing this parenting thing for so long that it’s getting tiring to plan activities and take them out. I guess there’s a reason kids grow up and need less physical parental input. But with 6, it doesn’t seem to end! The hubs has long copped out and most times it’s just me taking them for the outdoor stuff while he joins us for meals.

I know we have to at least put a bit of physical activity back into our lives, especially now that we have Kate. I’ve been bugging him about it so off we went to Labrador Park. It’s situated near the PSA building where Alexandra Road meets Tanjong Pagar road and Pasir Panjang road.

Wish we were on that boat

I’m not particularly fond of taking them to either West Coast or East Coast Park because of the crowds. This place is perfect. Scenic views, not too crowded even on weekends, and besides, where else would you get to ogle at handsome boats while cycling?

Perfect to watch the sun set

We rode all the way to Keppel Marina and ended up at this place which is a perfect picnic spot. Next time we can perhaps pack a sandwich and a drink each in a backpack and have a simple picnic. The kids would be more than happy to kick a ball around.

Of course she’s smiling… she’s not the one doing the cycling

The next time, we can check out the war relics and secret tunnels.

Directions:

Labrador Villa Road, off Pasir Panjang road

MRT: Labrador Park station

With the older kids, we used to frequent West Coast Park a lot. There’s so much to do there and they could easily play for hours. There are a lot of play structures to keep the little ones occupied and there’s sand everywhere so we’ll bring our sand toys along. They would also bring their bicycles, roller blades or skate scooters. Once, we tried to fly a kite as there is a huge field with lots of people flying beautiful kites. However, we failed. Don’t ask me why. It wasn’t that there was no wind, because other kites were flying gaily high in the sky. When I mentioned it to a friend, he tried to explain to me how you have to gauge the direction of the wind and go along with it (or was it against it) so that the wind will gradually push the kite from below. And you have to tug at it in a certain way so that it will climb higher and higher. Gosh. Sounds so complicated. Oh well. That was probably our first and last time flying a kite.

Pirate ship

I was surprised to see that it was not as crowded as before. Later I realised why. The main climbing play structure with the high slides was closed for renovation. So although the older kids were disappointed, I much preferred it!

“I think you better stop, uncle”

There’s still enough to keep the younger ones happy for a good few hours. This ‘crazy’ bus was very popular with the kids as it is attached to some springs below. This dad was really involved, and he kept acceding to his boys request to shake the bus. And shake he did! Kate stood there for a long time, spell-bound, as the kids on the bus were being shaken vigorously and were squealing in delight.

Made a new friend

The older girls had to coordinate to get Kate across the net safely. She is indeed fortunate to have siblings who dote on her.

Requires good balancing skills

They were having so much fun that I decided to try hanging too. Could only manage a couple of seconds. Ahem… better get started on that exercise program I’ve been meaning to for years.

3 little monkeys swinging in the park

As usual, Kate wants in on everything.

One little monkey…

It was a rare opportunity that I had my oldest and youngest home with me on a school morning. #1 had a day off from school as she wasn’t taking certain subjects for her ‘O’ levels prelims. Instead of my daily jaunt with Kate at the playgrounds, I decided to take them for a leisurely breakfast. We needed a cafe that was open early and where Kate could roam for a bit after breakfast. Food for Thought nestled in our beautiful Botanic Gardens was a perfect choice.

Ample seating

This eco-conscious cafe is very kid-friendly and has several configurations of seatings to accommodate groups of different sizes. It is very spacious (no problems with strollers), and has a playground right outside.

Grilled Ham & Cheese $9

We ordered the Ham & cheese and the mixed berries pancakes. All their pancakes are served with fresh cream and gula melaka syrup. Kate loved the pancakes and helped me finish half of it!

Mixed Berries pancakes $11

After she had her fill, she went off to play by herself in the little playground outside. It’s great that the outdoor area is separated by glass walls so we could keep an eye on her while we finished up our breakfast. Even though the playground is outdoors, it is pretty much shaded by trees so it wasn’t that hot.

Deep in thought

This signage cracked the both of us up! Check out rule #2. Hmm, are adults so deprived of fun? Perhaps they also need to run around and de-stress.

Small but fun playground

Right above Food for Thought, there is a little koi pond and Kate was mesmerised by the fishes. We spent some time just hanging around enjoying the lush greenery. What a perfect morning. Lovely. Just lovely.

Sane tip: Bring some wheelies along and let the kids loose in the beautiful gardens. Will do that when I take the whole bunch of them here the next time! Parking is right outside Food for Thought.

Save tip: Early bird special (8-10am) – Chicken laksa or Mee rebus @ $5, add coffee/tea for an extra $1