We went along with some friends and their kids to the Mozart exhibition at the National Museum last Friday. After giggling past the David in lace - any one else think it's a really wierd installation? - and playing with Twardzik Ching's magnetic wall and Imprint, we passed the turnstiles into the exhibition, which at $16 for an adult ($8.50 for kids above 6)was probably one of the most expensive exhibitions I've been to here.

I have to say that all the kids had a great time despite the exhibition being targeted to kids aged 6-12. The older one went around almost all the exhibits, wrote the script with an inkwell, got her face painted, learnt about Classical toothpaste (cloves, fennel and baking soda) and made sachets of peppermint tea. The younger ones romped around the canopy bed and the carriage playing dress-up with the clothes, though refusing to wear the wigs for some reason.

We spent over an hour in there, then went out to let the young uns into the Murmurs playground outside which was policed by highly enthusiastic staff making sure no over 4s went in. Somehow the playground with its primary colours seemed so bland after the colours and rich velvets and brocades inside. But the ballpit and a small maze were as expected, a draw.

I just wish there was some more structure to the exhibition. It felt like it was all laid out a bit haphazard so you'd miss out the bits like the kitchen (laid in a corner near the entrance) if you jumped into the middle and wandered off. Tellingly, the multimedia section which had video screens hardly seemed a draw. Also I can't remember hearing his music in the background.

The friends I went with echoed my sentiments. They coincidentally were visiting from Indianapolis, which is apparently home to the largest children's museum in the world. Their kids couldn't stop talking about their experiences there and judging by the website, citations and pics, it is impressive.

I found one degree of separation to Singapore. The piece de resistance at the Indianapolis Children's Museum is a stupendous 5 storey tall, 4800 piece glass sculpture by Dave Chihuly - the artist's largest permanent installation. Chihuly's works Sunrise and Sunset can be seen at the Ritz Carlton Millenia's Chihuly Lounge and Greenhouse restaurant (check them out if you're a guest, or go on a self-guided podcast tour of the hotel's 4200 art pieces). But I digress.

A children's museum in Singapore would be such a great starting point to introduce children to the arts and also to natural history, history and world cultures. Sure we have bits and pieces in each of the museums here for children but a whole structure full of it all year round? Wouldn't that be fantastic? The Indianapolis museum draws a million visitors with a populaton of 1.9 million. Any arts-policy makers listening?