Media Invite
Following the success of our previous trip of just me and the children, I decided to go for round two of solo outing with the children. And this time round, we made a journey to the west!
Whilst we have been to the main area of Singapore Science Centre, we have never ventured over to KidsSTOP. I don’t know why though… Hmm…
In any case, we went and the children had a lot of fun! That’s what’s most important!
The first stop to intrigue the children was the construction site.
They put on the vest and helmet while watching a video about construction and went on their merry way to be construction workers. But their interest in pushing the wheelbarrow around soon wore off when they discovered this.
They had so much fun getting the balls to the top and rearranging the parts at the end to determine the flow of the balls that they stayed here for a really long time!
As a colouring session at the new Oceans’ Buddies was about to start, I hurried the children along, promising that we’ll return for more later.
Nakayla took her seat and coloured away, but Blake wasn’t keen and wandered off to cook instead.
Fortunately for me, both exhibits were pretty close to one another so I was able to move back and forth with ease. The helpful staff overseeing the colouring session saw what I was doing and assured me that Nakayla will be okay with her around. With that, I went to play with Blake.
I don’t know how, but I ended up being his customer. He’s a pretty decent chef and worker – asked me what I wanted to eat, was more than delighted to source for the items I ordered and served with a smile. Then he went, “Mommy, don’t forget to pay money.” Haha!
When I have ordered every combination possible, I managed to get Blake to join Nakayla in the colouring session.
From this session, the children learnt about sea creatures and the problem they are facing – pollution. Blake was shocked to learn that turtles ate plastic bags because they mistake those for sea jellies! He kept going, “Oh no!” and kept reminding us about it.
Then, the most exciting part came – putting their drawings up onto the screen for everyone to admire!
Their drawings became 3D after it was scanned!
The only gripe I had was how faint some of the colours looked on screen. Most of the markers made available for the colouring session have either ran out of ink or have the tips abused to the point of being frayed. When I asked how often the markers will change, neither of the staff present could give me an answer. Oh well.
After the colouring session was over, the children proceeded to their next play station – The supermarket!
Nakayla shopped and took all her favourite items, while Blake was emptying all the abandon baskets by placing all the items back, but this section didn’t hold their attention for long.
Blake was so amused by the interactive display, especially the animation on our digestive system. He kept doing it over and over again, laughing non-stop! So thankful there wasn’t much crowd at KidsSTOP that day!
Nakayla preferred to play with the x-ray films and she was trying to identify what she was looking at. She arranged all the x-ray films she could find in a neat row and went up and down pointing at them and telling me what they were.
They moved out to another part of the Body System section to discover their five senses at this rather interactive display, taking turns to open every door available.
When they were done with the five senses, Blake climbed up a stool to access this – a human with all the different internal organs in our body. Blake spotted a mistake and told me, “Mommy, the heart is in the wrong place! That’s for the stomach!” Gosh. That really shocked me! I didn’t know he could recognize the body parts and internal organs!
Next, they explored a world beyond Earth. They went to the outer space! All three of us jumped when a voice came booming over the speakers near us. That’s when we realize that by sliding the blocks, we were learn about the various planets and their names.
Once space exploration was done, the children decided that it was time to get dirty.
I had seen this exhibition the moment we stepped in, and I had been secretly hoping that the children will not enter it. All that sand stuck on their feet, hands, clothes… What a potential nightmare!
Alas, the children spotted it and insisted. I relented.
They had fun digging and pretending to be archaeologists, while I was happy to be sitting nearby to keep an eye on them. When they were done, the staff actually helped to clean all the sand off of them before letting them out!
And our last activity for the day before saying goodbye was an arts and crafts session making caterpillars out of egg cartons! Blake sat out of this as well, not surprisingly.
Nakayla tried her best to colour the caterpillar to her best ability, but egg cartons are tricky with it’s rough and uneven surface. I helped a little, following the instructions she gave, “Blue over here, mommy!”
After an entire afternoon spent at KidsSTOP, I was ready to head home. The children, having played to their hearts’ content, were cooperative and left without any fuss. Yay!
What a day spent journeying to the west and back! Phew!
KidsSTOP
21 Jurong Town Hall
Singapore 609233
Next to Singapore Science Center
Opens Daily with two sessions:
First session: 9.30am – 1.30pm (last admission at 12.45pm)
Second session: 2pm – 6pm (last admision at 5.15pm)
For more information like ticket prices, promotions and updates to their various activities and exhibitions, do visit their website.
Disclaimer: While we were invited to KidsSTOP, this review was provided on a voluntary basis. No further compensation were received.
