Things to do with kids in Singapore: Treetop Walk & Trick Eye Museum

Continuing the series of things to do with kids in Singapore (first post here), here are 2 more places that we went to in the last few months that proved to be fun:

Treetop Walk: Photos of the Treetop Walk that I'd seen online made me want to get to this place at the soonest. When I was researching it however, it seemed like the 4-5 km one-way walk (through the MacRitchie Reservoir) might be a bit too much not just for the kids, but possibly even for me in the hot and muggy weather. I looked around a bit more and figured out that that a particular entry (the Venus Drive Car Park side) seemed to be a shorter walk at 2-3 km. We have been ardent users of the public transport here and so I found the route using the MRT & Bus that would take us closest to this point.

Right at the beginning.. feeling as fresh as the surroundings :)

We ended up dilly-dallying a bit due to some other chores and it was past noon when we finally made it there, but the weather was so cloudy and gorgeous that day that we didn't have any issues with the heat and could just ramble along until evening. I felt quite suspicious of the signs that said 1 km, 2 km, and so on because with all the ups and downs of the path, it definitely felt like we walked a LOT more. My Fitbit too, reported a much longer distance than the signs it, and you know which one I'd trust ;).

The lovely view that we experienced on the actually short stretch of the walk above the treetops, was totally worth it!! We were so high on the experience that we even had enough enthusiasm to go and catch a movie after ;). Must plan another round sometime, with the longer route through the reservoir, but maybe I'll do it on my own before trying with the kids.

That accomplished (and slightly tired) look

How to get here: Flame Tree Pk or Opp Flame Tree Pk are the bus stops to get to. We took an MRT to Marymount and then a bus from there, but depending on your starting point you might be able to take a bus directly as well. The entry to the Treetop walk closes at 5 pm so do take that into account while planning your outing.

Trick Eye Museum: We had seen the main highlights of Sentosa on our earlier holiday, so I hadn't really paid much attention if there was anything new opening up there. Thanks to a kind friend who asked us if we would like to join her and family on an outing to the Trick Eye Museum, we discovered this unique museum where the kids especially had loads of fun.

Relaxing.. in the past apparently :)

It's filled with paintings and other artfully arranged set-ups, where you can pose for a photo, with the end result tricking the eye of any spectator. It really made kids out of us adults too, with trying out the various settings and checking out the end result in photos, as much or even more than the kids did ;).

Expression also to suit the setup :)

Help! The lava!

Who says only the kids should pose ;)

No dearth of actors in the family

How to get here: As far as Sentosa goes, it is really easy to get to by various means - taxi, MRT or bus - and the Trick Eye Museum is quite close to the parking lot. It's on the same stretch as Universal Studios.

If you have any suggestions for places to add in my list of things to do with the kids in Singapore, do comment and let me know :). 

Things to Do with Kids in Singapore - Gardens by the Bay, Science Centre

On our holiday to Singapore about 5 years back (described here and here), we covered many of the common touristy sights, so now that we live here, we decided to turn our attention to some other fun places :). I hope to make this one a series on things to do with kids in Singapore, maybe it would help visitors who might like to add these to their itinerary as well.

Gardens by the Bay: Earlier this year, it was time for some fun with grandparents(G's parents), who were visiting here during the 2 week school holiday. The Gardens by the Bay (a touristy place all right, but it wasn't around 5 years ago!) exhibit has 2 conservatories and I decided to explore one of them - the Flower Dome - so as to not overdo spending too much time on our feet.

So fascinating to see the bud to flower transformation !

Tough to capture the beauty of that symmetry

We were lucky to be there at the time of the tulip exhibit, and it added even more color to the already beautiful space. One more conservatory (The Cloud Forest) shall be explored soon, as also the skywalk and lights show which is supposed to be quite spectacular.

Couldn't take a selfie without these two photobombing :)

What did I tell you ;) ?

Finding matching tulips to click a pic :)

How to get here: The closest MRT station is Bayfront on the Downtown Line, and on a hot day it would be advisable to take the shuttle for $3 from the MRT exit to reach the domes. On cooler days (if you're lucky!) it might be a nice and picturesque walk. This and more details about any scheduled closures available on their website.

Lovely varieties of tulips with a shredded edge

There was a collection of cacti and we were all fascinated with this one that looked like a brain

Science Centre: Singapore has a wealth of museums and the like to cater to the young and the old, and as the whole point was for the grandkids to have as much or rather even more fun than us adults, we decided to check out the Science Centre. I dare say this was not a super-modern space - I believe the newly set up ArtScience Museum is more dazzling, but it still offered a lot of interesting experiments and exhibits for folks of all ages to experience and learn.

Trying to understand the workings!

I wonder what this is about :)

The fire-tornado was dazzling conclusion to our visit, though a bit scary with the amount of heat generated. Of course the museum personnel were very careful with leaving space all around and keeping kids away from the heat. 

A closer look at its hottest!

Fire Tornado just starting up

Travel posts have always been a lot of fun to write, and so this is my latest attempt to revive and keep the blog alive with the places we visit locally :). Do let me know how you liked the first one, and if there are any places you would like to see added to this list of things to do with kids in Singapore.

The series continues:
Treetop Walk and Trick Eye Museum