Tag Archives: Singapore Activities with Children

Singapore’s Asian Civilization Museum: Handicrafts, Heirlooms and Hookahs

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Happy Labor Day!

May 1 is a national Singapore holiday.  This meant for Andy he did not have to physically go to the office but because few other counties acknowledge this day his email account was still flooded by work from the States and London.   Oh well!  Such is the life of an expat.   We did, however, take advantage of some free time to visit the Asian Civilizations Museum.

Singapore today is a melting pot of nations and has been an important worldwide trading port for generations.  This museum represents various cultures of Asia and contains a remarkable diversity of wonderful treasures.  The galleries are generally separated by geographical areas and the displays are lovely.

This is from the southeast Asia area.

Beautiful Stone Carving from India

Currently they have a special exhibit of artifacts recovered from a 9th century AD Chinese shipwreck discovered as recently as 1998 in the Java Sea.

Detail of a Flask from the Tang Shipwreck

There is also a special display of fabrics from India from the 1400s to 1900s.  The intricacy of the details is stunning.

There were many interactive screens.  This one had the jewelry displayed in a case with a black background but would illuminate where the pieces belonged on a statue when you pushed a button.

In the Indonesian cultural display a video of a traditional dancer played behind the instruments.

Several areas, specifically designated for children,  provided educational opportunities about different cultural centers around Asia.  The displays included costumes, books and play objects.  The kids really enjoyed these and the photo opportunities were priceless.  Here Aidan and Sydney dress the part of patrons in a traditional Chinese Tea House.

In “India”, Aidan took the role of a maharaja very seriously. Sydney acted as his guard.

Drums boomed in the Nomadic Middle Eastern tent.

Sydney looked like trouble was brewing behind the drapes.

Aha! They found the hookah pipe!  The children came up with the pose spontaneously which simultaneously amused and frightened Andy and me.    We can only hope that they never look this way in college :)

We were all impressed with the museum.   The collections fantastic and the kids loved being part of the journey.   It was a wonderful reminder of some places we have been, will travel to or hope to explore some day all under one roof.   Now if we can only keep them off the hookah….

Hiking Singapore Style

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Our family loves to hike.  Yesterday we did a trek around the MacRichie Nature trail.  The location was only about a 15 minute cab ride from our apartment but it felt quite remote when we arrived.  One unique attraction is the TreeTop walk.  This is a 2.5 km trail that has a suspension bridge in the trees so you can see the view from the canopy.

A beautiful view of the canopy

Sydney on the Suspension Bridge

I think the hike was an excellent metaphor for how I feel in Singapore.  The surroundings seem familiar yet there is are objects which are so foreign and exotic it constant reminds you that you are not home anymore.  For example here is a leaf Aidan found…Seems ordinary enough until look at it and hold it up.

Aidan and the giant rainforest leaf

It was almost as big as him!  Also the animals are a bit different.  They do have your typical squirrels but we also saw a whole troop of monkeys.

Long Tail Macaque

Aidan and Sydney were amazed by the long rows of ants.  The rows of ants seemed to go on forever.  Aidan also found a snake. He found it first and picked it up so fast.  ”Don’t worry it’s not poisonous because it did not bite me.”  Great deductive reasoning from my five year old.

The Non-Poisonous Snake

It was lovely adventure.  So far I am enjoying the excitement of our journey here in Singapore.