Hawker role-play, bubble fiesta and more: June school holiday activities for all budgets

SINGAPORE — Be warned, enter Children's Museum Singapore with a filled tummy or you and your kids may get hunger pangs.

Its new exhibition, Into The Hawkerverse, features "stalls" offering a smorgasbord of local delicacies, such as satay, roti prata and chicken rice.

Plates of Hainanese curry rice, nasi lemak and Indian rojak will also be vying for your attention. But you can feast on the good food only with your eyes.

The play-based exhibition aims to deepen kids' understanding of Singapore's prized Unesco-recognised hawker culture in an interactive way.

For example, at two game stations where they role-play as hawkers, they will find out that it is not easy to cook under time constraints and with orders piling up. Hopefully, this will lead children to gain new respect and empathy for hawkers.

In another gallery, they will have hands-on opportunities to learn about Singapore's hawker heritage.

In a game of Here Comes The Teh Gu, your kids can pretend to be unlicensed street hawkers and escape from teh gu, or inspectors, making their rounds.

The challenge is to speed-walk without dropping the cookware and ingredients in two baskets on a bamboo pole balanced on the shoulder.

Into The Hawkerverse was launched on May 25 in conjunction with Children’s Season, an annual programme hosted by Museum Roundtable museums and heritage galleries during the June school break.

The exhibition is slated to run for about two years at Children's Museum, which is dedicated to kids 12 years old and below.

Admission is free for Singapore citizens and permanent residents. Otherwise, it is $10 a child and $15 an adult.

Only adults accompanying kids are allowed in the museum. Each visiting slot lasts one hour and 45 minutes.

Book online at str.sg/wQNtv before going. Tickets are available for booking 30 days in advance.

Here are six other places to take your kids during the school holidays.

Adventure Cove Waterpark's Bubble Fiesta

Whoosh on high-speed water slides, drift on a river and snorkel with 20,000 tropical fish over a colourful reef.

Adventure Cove Waterpark offers plenty of rides and attractions to keep the family entertained, and now even more so with a Bubble Fiesta that runs until Aug 11.

The little ones will especially enjoy the eight zones, such as Bubble Boogie where they can strut their dance moves and pop shimmering soap bubbles.

There is also Bubble Blizzard, a 4m-wide dome that invites all to dodge, hit or catch balloons of varying sizes in it.

Look out for an ice cream cart, beside Bay Restaurant, where free frozen treats await.

Tickets for Singapore residents cost $40 an adult and $33 a child aged four to 12. Kids three years old and below enjoy free admission. Go to str.sg/7onB for details.

Peppa Pig's Adventure

If your little ones have been watching the Peppa Pig animated series on repeat, here is a good introduction to theatre for them.

Peppa Pig’s Adventure is a stage production by British company Fierylight, which works closely with the series’ original creators.

Pre-schoolers will be thrilled to see the popular characters come alive on stage in an original story.

Peppa is going on a camping trip with her little brother George and her friends, Pedro Pony, Suzy Sheep and Gerald Giraffe.

With lunch-boxes packed and Daddy Pig driving the bus, they are excited about their outdoor adventure.

The production, which has toured Britain and the United States since 2017, will make its way to the Esplanade Theatre on June 16. Choose from three sessions – 11am and 2.30 and 5.30pm.

Tickets to the 100-minute show, which includes a 20-minute intermission, are priced from $68 to $128. Find out more at str.sg/ed7a

Magic Festival at Science Centre Singapore

Many magic tricks or illusions are based on principles of science and mathematics. Your children will learn how they really work at the Science Centre Singapore’s Magic Festival on June 15 and 16.

Besides interactive workshops and panel discussions, there will also be hourly performances by nine magicians, including Mr Bottle, Mystifying Imran, Mr Egg and Tommy Kian.

Magic enthusiasts can also buy props, books and resources at the event, which is supported by the Singapore Association of Magicians.

Festival tickets, which include Science Centre admission and a $5 gift shop voucher, are priced at $25. There are also two-day passes at $40.

Find out more at str.sg/jVSm

Ocean Fest 2024: Righting The Future

Watch more than 100,000 marine animals of over 1,000 species swim gracefully around the S.E.A. Aquarium. As your kids take in the fascinating sights, remind them to respect marine ecosystems.

Animals have died from ingesting plastic that entered the oceans, for example, so it is important for people to dispose of trash properly.

Kids can pick up such educational messages when they play "pinball" at an installation titled the Marine Conservation Quest. It is crafted from cardboard and plastic bottles by Paper Carpenter, a Singapore team of cardboard artists.

In this version of the nostalgic arcade game, players have to direct "marine animals" away from an ocean of trash.

The interactive installation is part of the attraction's Ocean Fest, which returns for a fifth edition that is themed Righting The Future, until July 19.

Also, check out a picture exhibition by local photographer Toh Xing Jie, who casts the spotlight on often-overlooked species, such as gobies and nudibranchs, in Singapore waters.

From June 19 to 21, learn more about horseshoe crabs at an education booth. The species are often referred to as “living fossils” because they have existed for about 450 million years, before dinosaurs were discovered.

Ocean Fest activities are included with regular admission to S.E.A. Aquarium.

Tickets for Singapore residents cost $41 an adult and $31 a child aged four to 12. Kids three years old and below enjoy free admission. Find out more at str.sg/7Zom

Donald Duck's 90th birthday bash

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Donald Duck is 90 years old already?

The iconic Disney character in a sailor suit and bow tie made his debut on June 9, 1934, when The Wise Little Hen animated short was released.

He may be short-tempered and at times pompous, but these imperfections have endeared him to the audience.

VivoCity mall is throwing a big bash for him and your family is invited.

Until June 23, you can take pictures with 3D installations of Donald, play a birthday tune and pen your greetings for him. There are also displays of Peranakan-inspired shophouses where you can spot his friends, including Daisy Duck, Mickey Mouse and Goofy.

Plus, redeem merchandise when you spend at least $250. Go to str.sg/7UoC for details.

Hello Kitty, Singapore Cable Car celebrate 50th birthdays

Singapore Cable Car turned 50 on Feb 15 and so will Hello Kitty on Nov 1.

To celebrate their golden jubilee, both are teaming up to present a memorable experience.

Until Dec 31, your family can ride Hello Kitty-themed cable cars from Mount Faber Peak to Sentosa. All 67 cabins on the Mount Faber Line, excluding the seven SkyOrb cabins, are adorned with Hello Kitty-themed wraps.

There are five designs featuring the beloved character, her companion Dear Daniel, her sister Mimmy and their parents.

Tickets, which cover a round-trip journey on both the Mount Faber Line and Sentosa Line, cost $35 an adult and $25 a child aged four to 12. Kids three years old and below enjoy free rides. Enjoy unlimited rides for one day when you top up $10.

Go to str.sg/9gfS for details.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.