If you’re looking for fun places for kids, museum visits are the perfect way to combine interest and education whether it involves taking the kids to see a temporary exhibit, teaching them about the local culture or engaging them in a DIY workshop. Just because summer is here doesn’t mean the learning has to stop. Singapore has some mainstream museums that are the go-to’s all year round but during Children’s Season 2018, they are holding some really special exhibitions. Then there are museums that are bit off the beaten path and we’re here to bring you the lowdown on some real gems out there. 

Children’s Season 2018

NUS Museum: Our Story Through Poetry

Poet and performer Deborah Emmanuel will investigate and reimagine Singapore’s past through poetry in this workshop for kids aged 7-12. Taking inspiration from the ongoing Radio Malaya exhibition, kids will be encouraged to interpret and write their own words using crafts as well.

Cost: $25 (Parent-Child pair)

National Gallery: Small Big Dreamers 2018

Let little ones learn about themselves and the world around them through art and active play. Take part in interactive installations to learn more about values, passion, confidence and creativity.

Cost: Free with museum admission

STPI-Creative Workshop & Gallery

Kids can try their hand at making their own paper, experiment with colour paper pulp through layering, stacking and shaping them with cookie cutters, create printing designs or compose a multi-layered image by combining direct printing techniques and mixed media.

Cost: $20 – $40

Asian Civilisations Museum: Let’s Explore

Go on a storytelling hunt as you explore ancient civilisations and uncover myths and legends. Create a unique masterpiece in a rubber stamp carving workshop or your own travel journal.

Cost: Free with museum admission

Indian Heritage Centre

Get ready for an exciting line-up of hands-on activities including heritage hunts, storytelling sessions, craft and calligraphy workshops and more.

Cost: Free

Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall

Join in the fun at the Dumpling Festival (16-17 June), which is an important celebration in Chinese communities around the world. Learn to make glutinous rice dumplings in the traditional way, take part in a heritage hunt to become a legendary dragon, show your creativity in a sand art workshop, design your very own paper kite and many more such activities lie in store.

Cost: Free

Peranakan Museum: #FilterLife Weekend Festival

Enjoy Peranakan-spired activities through crafts and performance gallery tours. Jazz up the fun by dressing up in retro costumes in the vintage photo studio. Explore a “Photoshop” technique of old hand-tinting.

Cost: Free

Fort Siloso: ChitChat Cards

Visitors can collect the ChitChat cards at the Surrender Chambers in Fort Siloso between 10am-3pm. These cards will encourage you and your family to think, wonder, learn, communicate and bond all the while discovering amazing things about the Fort. Once you’ve completed your visit, be sure to pass the deck of ChitChatCards to somebody else so they can enjoy it too.

Cost: Free

Police Heritage Centre

Check out this outreach programme for kids 3-12 years where they will not only be able to learn more about our Police Force through a guided tour but also participate in a host of interesting activities such as badge making, playing dress up and even writing a personal message to the policemen.

Cost: Free

Singapore Discovery Centre: Funtabulous Times

Take part in interactive exhibitions and engaging activities and help find creative solutions so that both Singapore and the neighboring region is able to come up with new products and services which will improve our way of life.

Cost: Free

Mint Museum of Toys: Make & Play

Kids, get ready to take a walk down memory lane with your parents. Learn basic toy-making techniques such as paper crafting and clay modeling. Choose from themes like Age of Heroes, Doll it Up and Gigan-tour.

Cost: $12 – $22

Singapore Sports Museum

Kids will learn what it takes to be a coach, design a stadium, medal or trophy and realise the importance of values such as excellence, respect and friendship through fun sports themed art and craft activities.

Cost: Free

MOE Heritage Centre

Pick up an activity card and stamp your way through the galleries as you learn important facts about the Singapore Education Story! Once you complete the entire trail, be sure to collect your reward, a special old-school memento.

Cost: Free

ArtScience Museum: Marvel Studios: Ten Years of Heroes

If you have watched the new Avengers movie, then this exhibition is sure to be the icing on the cake by providing a unique perspective on each marvel super hero. If you are one of the few who hasn’t seen the film then this cutting-edge showcase with its use of state-of-the-art AV technology and immersive media will have you buying a ticket asap. Whether you enjoyed Black Panther, Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy, the Avengers or all of the above, you will not be disappointed. Filled with engaging displays, interactive installations, immersive installations and sneak peaks into all things Marvel, this exhibition will cut across people of all ages and backgrounds.

Cost: $29 (Adult) $21 (Child)

National Museum: Singapore Playgrounds – Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

In its ongoing exhibition The More We Get Together: Singapore’s Playgrounds 1930-2030, parents will be taken back to their childhoods to relive playful memories while kids will be able to make fun predictions of what playtime will look like in the future. Throughout the exhibition, visitors will be able to explore different playground surfaces, take a closer look at the original blueprints of some of Singapore’s iconic playgrounds and even learn what their meaning holds to our society as a whole. What’s more, the audience can become a part of the future as they throw in their own designs towards the building of the National Museum’s very own playground.

Cost: Free

Singapore Art Museum: Imaginarium – Into the Space of Time

Now in its 8th year, the museum’s Imaginarium series is back with a new topic, Into the Space of Time, that explores the tales and theories that shape our memories and futures. Over the course of 4 months, a collaboration of immersive and interactive artworks from 10 artists around the world will help kids understand the concept of time. In addition to the artworks, the site-specific installations will also be supported by artist-led tours, poetry reading sessions, various art workshops for children and daily-screenings of award-winning animations and short films at the museum’s cinema.

Cost: Free, but usual museum admission charges apply

Science Centre: I’m A Science Explorer

It’s important to teach kids the necessity of keeping our planet safe. Let them bring out their inner environmentalists in this one day Environmental Science workshop where kids 9-12 years can learn, think and go green with many hands-on activities. Watch proudly as they are awarded the “Young Environmentalist” badge upon completion.

Cost: Science Centre admission charges apply

Singapore Philatelic Museum: The Little Prince – A Story

Go on an overnight adventure, create an outdoor mural, get drawing tips from the illustrator of comic books, learn how things fly through hands-on activities and take part in more fun stuff that will be happening at the Philatelic Museum during Children’s Season 2018.

Cost: Free

Singapore Maritime Gallery

Enjoy educational tours through fun and engaging storytelling sessions. Kids will get to bring home limited edition maritime-themed finger puppets. Join their Food Fiesta to find answers to questions like where do spices come from. Create your own video about Singapore Maritime using your imagination and animation techniques.

Cost: Free

Off-the-Beaten Path Museums

Chinatown Heritage Centre

You’re sure to have visited Chinatown at least once, to enjoy an authentic local meal or buy a momento or just take a stroll through the side streets. But have you ever ventured inside the Chinatown Heritage Centre? See the colourful past of Chinatown come alive as you get a true picture of Singapore’s history while walking through this venue comprised of three 3-storey shophouses showcasing 6 galleries documenting the surrounding area’s history. View carefully created interiors of former residents, check out authentic recreations of shops and enjoy character-guided tours.

Cost: $20 (Adult), $16 (Child)

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

This is the only place in Singapore where visitors will be greeted by 3 gigantic sauropod dinosaur fossils. Once the little ones get over ooahing and aahing over this, they can head to over 15 different thematic zones from plants and amphibians to mammals and dinosaurs learning about environment and conservation topics along the way. Check out interesting specimens including a 10.6 meter long sperm whale specimen, a leatherback turtle and even the slice of a tree that gave Changi its name. This visit is sure to be an education beyond the classroom if nothing else.

Cost: $21 (Adult), $13 (Child)

Alive Museum

While nothing here is exactly alive in the literal sense, this one-of a-kind-museum hailing from Korea offers visitors a 4D experience they will not forget. This is probably one of the few museums anywhere whose staff encourages its audience to get real up close and personal with and become a part of the picture. Apart from touching the artwork, you can also jump into the colorful frame through illusions created by 3D effects. So parents be ready with your cameras as the little ones pose with angel wings, pretend to feed a giraffe or watch the Mona Lisa come to life.

Cost: $25 (Adult), $20 (Child: 3-12 years)

Madame Tussauds

Do you have a little superhero fanatic in the house whose biggest wish is to strike a pose with Iron Man? How about a soccer aficionado who’d give anything to stand side by side with Cristiano Ronaldo? Visit Madame Tussauds on Sentosa Island and get ready to take a walk with your family and friends on the Red Carpet. With fully themed interactive zones and the “Spirit of Singapore” boat ride, get ready to enjoy the limelight with your favourite A-listers, hop on stage with music legends, get in on the action at the Marvel 4D Experience and come face to face with both local and international icons.

Cost: $32 (Adult) $22 (Child)

For more ideas for fun family activities, indoor activities for kids  and outdoor adventures, check out our directory!