Reef walks on Sentosa

Naked Hermit Crabs is organising guided reef walks on Sentosa to spot its shore-dwellers - I mean the marine kind not the ones that hang out at KM8.

Save these dates:

- 6 June (Friday)
- 9 June (Monday)
- 6 July (Sunday)

Mozart at the museum - on till 6 July

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?

Heritage Marathon - 19 July

 Sign up for the treasure-hunt style race Fun on Foot here.

International Museum Day activities - 31 May

There's free entry to the museums on 31 May to celebrate International Museum Day.

Asian Civilisations Museum
National Museum Of Singapore
NEWater Visitor Centre
NUS Museum
Memories at Old Ford Factory
Peranakan Museum
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research
Reflections at Bukit Chandu
red dot design museum
Republic of Singapore Air Force Museum
Singapore Art Museum
Singapore City Gallery
Singapore Philatelic Museum

Anyone for a trek up Gunung Lambak?

Just saw an email from the homeschooling group about a trek up Gunung Lambak, a 510m high hillock near the town of Kluang, Johor. Apparently a popular day trip for families, the trail apparently is clearly marked, has large steps and rope bridges on the way and is said to be suitable for 5 year-olds and above. You can book the trail here through a local agent. Other Malaysian outdoors options here. Also stumbled up on a Youtube video taken by a Malaysian family going up. Cute!

Centrestage holiday workshops start 23 June

Drama, art, dance and music workshops for age 31/2 - 11 at their studios in Wessex Estate. Check website for details.

Puppet show: 2 Jun, Tanglin Mall

The next edition of the free puppet show by ToyBox at Tanglin Mall Level 2, organised by The Better Toy Store at 2pm & 4pm. We're big fans and try not to miss their shows. There's lots of sing-alongs and storytelling using Folkmanis puppets. Email edwinmartan AT thebettertoystore DOT com to register.

ArtsFest outreach at hawker centres - 31 May - 15 Jun

I missed news of the Arts Where We Eat launch in Tampines but there's a few more events lined up so you can savour some chords with your curry:

Newton Food Centre
31 May & 1 June, 7pm – 9pm: Tony Loh (Erhu, Pipa) Suhaimi & Vinod (Guitar, Singing) Xun Gen (Dizi, Erhu, Singing)
31 May, 7pm only - Giraffes by Xirriquiteula Teatre (Spain)

Tiong Bahru Market
7 & 8 June, 9am – 11am: Don Martin (Guitar, Singing), He Zheng (Pipa), Pinto Dennis (Guitar, Singing)
8 June, 10am only - La Guardia Flamenca (Belgium)

East Coast Lagoon Food Village
14 & 15 June, 7pm – 9pm: Xiao Luo (Harmonica), Jerry Alfonso Fernandez (Guitar, Singing), Danny Buskin (Guitar, Singing)
15 June, 7.30pm only - RDP (Singapore)

Sculpture Carnival exhibition: 31 May - 18 Jun

If you and your kids aren't out at the myriad workshops at the annual Sculpture Carnival going on this weekend, you could still go to the resulting exhibition over the next couple of weeks. The theme this year: "Mission: Mother Earth."

Camp Singapore: 17-29 July

Some news in from the Singapore International Federation. They're organising Camp Singapore, an annual non-residential whole day camp for children of Singaporeans living overseas and of expatriates in Singapore to "familiarize themselves with life in Singapore and also to befriend local children." For children age 7-12 years, and the venue is Anglo Chinese Primary School. Register here. Closing date for applications is 15 June.

"Through experiential and fun-filled indoor and outdoor activities, your child will learn about Singapore’s culture, beliefs, practices and festivals of the different races, experience school life in Singapore and much more . Highlights include visits to the Botanic Gardens, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Pulau Ubin, the Singapore Science Centre and our very own Amazing Race."