With more and more Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) opening just as the school holidays beckon, you may well have made plans for a family trip to one of the VTL destinations. After all, what else is there to see in Singapore that you and your child haven’t already seen?
Plenty, as it turns out. While your child was occupied with schoolwork and exams, our local parks, museums and attractions have been busy sprucing themselves up in preparation for the school holiday season once more. The allure of far-flung shores may be hard to resist, but if it’s good, educational entertainment tailored to the Singaporean student you’re looking for, there is no place like home.
Here are five fun-for-the-whole-family ideas to put school – but not learning! – on the back burner this year-end.
1. Treat Your Child to a Tale (or Ten)
The literary gods must be smiling on Singapore because there are not one, but two festivals devoted to the magic of words, books and stories taking place on our sunny island right now. And both just so happen to be running events and workshops specifically targeted at students and their parents.
A mainstay of the local arts and culture scene since 1986, the Singapore Writers Festival (5 – 14 November) is being held in a hybrid format for the first time this year.
Experience an animated e-picture book written and illustrated by award-winning illustrator Debasmita Dasgupta or let cookbook author Shirley Wong guide you and your child through a bento-making workshop. You might also want to visit the Literary Pioneer exhibition on Hedwig Anuar – the first Singaporean Director of the National Library – at the National Library Plaza (admission is free).
Speaking of which, the 398.2 Storytelling Festival (6 – 27 November) is also supported by the National Library Board but focuses much more on the power of the spoken word to weave a tangled web around our imaginations. Catch talented storytellers in action as they enthral your child with tales drawn from mythology, folklore and their own ingenious minds in all four of Singapore’s national languages. There are a few sessions only for grown-ups too!
2. Save the Day as a Ranger Buddy
Who needs the Power Rangers when they’ve got the Ranger Buddies? Your child may not be wrestling with supersized monsters anytime soon (or ever), but he or she can still make a difference in their own way with this interactive, blended learning experience from the Singapore Zoo.
As a Ranger Buddy, your child will go on a series of missions at home, the Zoo and various locations around the island. In the process, he or she will learn about the threats posed by deforestation and what he or she can do in their everyday lives to help save the rainforest.
This is a great opportunity for your child to gain a greater understanding of a concept that can often seem very remote from urbanised, high-tech Singapore. Plus, he or she will also get to redeem special badges and pins for each mission he or she completes and interact with real-life residents of the Zoo such as Khansa the orangutan and Pedro the sea lion.
Signing up for the Ranger Buddies Mission web app is free, although you will still have to buy tickets to complete the Zoo-based missions.
3. Explore the Gates to the Underworld
In the Percy Jackson series, the gate to the Underworld is in Los Angeles, but did you know we have a portal to hell right here in Singapore?
If you ever visited Haw Par Villa as a child, chances are you’ll remember a dark space filled with delightful dioramas depicting the various tortures inflicted upon sinners in the Chinese afterlife. Now your child can enjoy the same experience, updated and refreshed for the 21st century.
Apart from the iconic 10 Courts of Hell display you may have fond memories of, the newly refurbished Hell’s Museum also features specially curated exhibits and video presentations on death rituals and practices in Singapore and around the world. While not recommended for children below the age of nine, the Museum can be a fascinating glimpse into a subject rarely explored in schools, but nevertheless an integral part of what it means to be human.
It’s only been just over a week since Hell’s Museum opened its gates to visitors once more, so you and your child can be one of the first to see its infernal attractions and live to tell the tale.
4. Walk, jog or cycle the entire length of Singapore
It may not stretch from Woodlands Checkpoint in the north to Sentosa in the south, but the 24-kilometre Rail Corridor is still the nearest approximation we have to legendary trails like the Camino de Santiago in Spain or the Pennine Way in the United Kingdom.
So named because it follows the route taken by the KTM trains of yesteryear, the Rail Corridor has been around for several years now but is continuously being improved and enhanced by NParks.
Even if you visited the Corridor when the railway tracks were first removed, we dare say you’ll find it a completely different experience now.
For one, the trek has become a lot more child-friendly and accessible than before. Your child shouldn’t have any problems taking in all the natural and historical sights the Corridor has to offer. Choose which sections appeal to you more, or return on multiple weekends to complete the whole trail as a family.
5. Go Museum-Hopping
Singapore isn’t high on the list of museum capitals of the world for most people, but this year-end school holidays, it definitely should be for you and your child.
From 20 November to 31 December, more than 50 museums and galleries in Singapore will be collaborating on Children’s Season 2021, a collection of activities and educational programmes for families and children.
Some details are still up in the air at the moment, but the National Museum of Singapore has already announced its slate of both on-site and online Children’s Season events. They include an artefact hunt, character tours, interactive performances and virtual gallery tours.
Separately, the National Gallery Singapore has also forged ahead with its Gallery Children’s Biennale using a hybrid exhibition format. Artists from Singapore and around the region were invited to create online interactive works and physical installations around the theme of “Why Art Matters”. Be prepared for some intense conversations with your child after he or she reflects on the concerns each artist has chosen to highlight in their works.
Blending Education and Entertainment for Maximum Impact
Learning doesn’t have to stop when the holidays begin, but the fun doesn’t have to stop when lessons resume either. At The Learning Lab, our teachers go the extra mile to bring the content they teach in the classroom to life. This can include anything from film screenings and debates on current affairs to arts and crafts projects and science experiments. Click here to find out more about how we reinforce key concepts through a range of fun yet educational activities.
The Learning Lab is now at 9 locations. Find a location that suits your needs.
If you have any questions about our range of programmes or class schedules, you may contact us at 6733 8711 or drop us an email at enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg.
