The June holidays are here and it’s time to kick back and relax (for the kids at least).
For under $30, spend some quality family time being miniature board game pieces to posing alongside your favourite superhero or anime characters with these interactive exhibitions that will keep both you and your kids entertained.
Read Also: Long Weekends For Kids: What Leave Days Can Parents Take To Maximise Their Holidays?
#1 iLight Singapore 2023 (1 June to 25 June, Marina Bay)
Image Credit: ilightsingapore.gov.sg
The ninth edition of iLight Singapore is here to showcase sustainable and whimsical art installations that would be a good exposure to children interested in the arts.
This year’s theme: A New Wave, explores the colour blue and its deeper meanings in the future sustainable world through fourteen illuminating, innovative art installations. Bask in the beauty of fragile glaciers through a multisensory AI experience with the ‘Glacier Dreams’ installation or have a dance party with your kids to witness nature’s flora wind around HDB blocks with the installation, ‘Block Party. Travel through the passage of time with portals and poke fun at the distortions in the installation ‘Resonances’.
Besides the installations, there are immersive programmes lined up for you. Lightwave: Turning the Tide presented by Alibaba Cloud is the main spectacle you would not want to miss. Immerse yourselves in this three-chapter multi-sensory light exhibition where you get transported to an underwater world and experience rising sea levels leading to life underwater. Witness as gigantic whales and schools of fish cross overhead while being amongst the reefs.
Admission Fee: Free
Programme Fee: Lightwave: Turning the Tide, $5 via Klook
Timing: Daily 7.30pm to 11pm with extended hours to 12am on Fridays and Saturdays
#2 Sensory Odyssey: Into the Heart of Our Living World (27 May to 29 October, Art Science Museum)
Image Credit: Art Science Museum, Marina Bay Sands
If your children are animal and nature lovers but you prefer not to visit the zoo, here’s a whole other experience that will provide them with a deeper look into the seven eco systems around the world.
Unleash your inner explorers and embark on journeys with animals through the blazing African Savannah, the densest rainforests, the freezing Artic Circle and to the depths of the earth and oceans. Encounter the habitats of different species of flora and fauna alike and not only do you get to witness, but you also get to hear and smell.
This multi-sensory immersive exhibition gets one to hone their senses through 8K videos filmed around the world, specially designed scents and sound technology. You’ll get to embody the experience of trudging through the evergreen rainforest, while smelling the fresh scent of rain and pine coupled with the cacophony of the surrounding wildlife all while in an enclosed exhibition.
Admission Fee: Adults, $21/$24*, Children, $17/$19*
Timing: Daily, 10am to 7pm (Last admission at 6pm)
*Tourist prices
#3 Avengers: Beyond Earth’s Mightiest Exhibition at Jewel Changi (26 May to 13 August, Jewel Changi)
Image Credit: Jewel Changi Airport
If you’re a marvel fanatic and have passed down your love for the iconic superheroes to your children, this exhibition is a must-go.
You will be greeted by a five-metre-tall Iron Man statue which will make for a great photo opportunity for the family. Don’t just stop there though, delving further into the Shiseido Forest Valley is where you’ll find plenty more larger-than-life 3D installations of your favourite Marvel superheroes. To make sure this exhibition is captured for the memories, there are multiple interactive Avengers-themed photo spots around where you can re-enact iconic Avengers character poses.
Afterwards, visit the Canopy Park for a journey through the evolution and milestones of the Marvel Universe and The Avengers from its comic books to movies. This is a chance to take a trip down memory lane with your children and recall back to the times where you watched your first Marvel movie or even read the comics.
After a long day, get to witness your favourite Marvel superheroes in action through a two-minute light and sound water projection show at the indoor waterfall. An Action City pop-up offering exclusive Marvel Merchandise from apparel to figurines will also be available for you to shop to your heart’s content and maybe pick up a souvenir or two.
Admission Fee: Free
Canopy Park: $6*/$8 (Prices are the same for adults and children)
CapitaStar Members and Changi Rewards Members: $5.40 (Adult/Child/Student/Senior)
Timing (Sound and light show): Mondays to Thursdays: 8pm, Friday to Sundays, PH and Eve of PH: 8pm, 10pm
*For Singapore Residents
#4 Naruto TV Animation 20th Anniversary Exhibition (29 May to 2 July, Marina Square)
Image Credit: Naruto TV Animation 20th Anniversary Exhibition Taipei
If your children are Naruto or anime fans, this is a must-visit exhibition this holiday. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iconic anime series by getting transported to the world of Naruto.
Unleash your family’s inner Shinobi (ninja) and re-enact eight of the anime’s iconic scenes with themed backdrops and capture memories with the life-sized standees of the characters. This includes striking a pose during Naruto’s and Sasuke’s iconic battle scene during ‘The Final Valley’.
To truly transport you to the world of the anime, there will be five immersive sound and light experiences you can look forward to. Nostalgic parents can use this opportunity to reminisce their childhood days watching the anime with their children. A pop-up store is also available at the exhibition offering limited edition Naruto merchandise from stationary to graphic t-shirts.
Admission Fee: $22/$25* via trip.com (Prices are the same for adults and children)
Time: 10am to 7:45pm (By 45-minute slots)
*Weekend and PH prices
#5 Gallery Children’s Biennale 2023 (27 May to 31 March 2024, National Gallery)
Image Credit: Gallery Children’s Biennale
For parents with young children, the National Gallery’s Children’s Biennale exhibition is where you can let your child express their imaginative minds through art and play.
This year’s theme of ‘Let’s Make A Better Place’ aims to allow children of all ages to discover and understand their own and other’s thoughts and feelings through 11 immersive artworks. Parents are welcome to join in their child’s fun learning experience as well.
These immersive experiences are split into four categories named after values and skills: “Care”, “Respect”, “Imagine” and “Collaborate”. From turning recycled and repurposed materials into art through embroidery to learning about the dangers of water pollution through an interactive mechanism, to exploring mind boggling optical illusions and experiencing sounds in a forest setting through a blend of art and technology. These are just some of the immersive artwork experiences offered from each category.
There are also performances and workshops to look forward to for the month of June that involves both child and parent. Help a pink creature find their way back home by navigating a series of challenges and obstacles across the gallery or engage in musical and art workshops to develop important concepts and skills such as a sense of direction, rhythm and music concepts.
Admission Fee: Free
Workshops: $10/$15 (Adult and child pair/Adult and child trio)
#6 Game On! At Changi (26 May to 16 July Changi Airport, Terminal 3)
Image Credit: Changi Airport
This is one for board game lovers. Hasbro’s larger than life interactive exhibition at Changi Airport offers you and your children the unique experience of being miniature game pieces. Located just outside of the departure hall of terminal 3, families can kill some time waiting for their flights by spending some quality time in the Hall of Games.
In addition to being life-sized, there is also a digital twist to the games. For games such as Connect 4, Guess Who and Hungry Hungry Hippo you will get to challenge your opponent through digital screens. There will be no more game pieces flying around in a fit of rage when you lose.
For board games that take forever to complete, a more engaging approach has been adopted. For instance, race alongside your children in the Game of Life driving simulation, collecting as many points as you can while avoiding all the hazards within a minute.
Doubling up as a photo spots, capture the memories alongside these upsized games. Alternatively, the ST3PS at basement 2 of terminal 3 have been transformed into Monopoly’s iconic property tiles with a Changi-inspired twist. Get the change to capture a family photo on your favourite tiles.
Want to bring some of these classic games and more home to enjoy? Hasbro has its own gaming retail outpost at Basement 2.
Admission Fee: Free
Timing: 12.00pm to 10.00pm
Gaming passes to Hall of Games:
*1 free pass (with a minimum purchase of $50 or $80 in a single receipt in public areas of Terminals 1 to 4 and supermarkets respectively)
*Redeem an additional free pass by paying via Changi Pay or Mastercard $5 via the Changi App
Read Also: Tired Of City Life? Here Are 11 Family-Friendly Farms In Singapore For A One-Day Getaway
This article was originally published on 2 June 2023 and has been updated with the latest information.
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