Alexandra Canal
Linear Park
The Alexandra Canal Linear Park is actually a Park Connector
jogging/cycling path that runs along the Alexandra Canal though most of the
canal cannot be seen as the park connector is built over it. I took my mother
in law and my 8 year old on his scooter to cover the 1.4km route on a sunny
weekday afternoon.
The Park connector was rather deserted that day. We didn’t
start right at the beginning of the connector which begins in the HDB cluster
on Clarence Lane. Instead we parked our car at the new multi storey HDB carpark
at Blk 61C Strathmore Avenue. J played on the new playground and was quite
happy with the tall slide.
Scooting upwards towards Blk 61A, there is a oldish
but interesting playground with wavy telephone tubes, Super big sound discs, a
trampoline and a ‘cable’ car ride that requires a lot of arm strength by the
parent to get your tot moving along the carriage way.
We rode down the path passing new Skyville HDB under
construction and lots of noise/dust, we stopped at the regular looking rather
typical HDB playground at Blk 81 Strathmore Avenune. We arrived at a road
crossing on Dawson Road. Just before the road crossing lies the Dawson Water
Terrace with steps of water having its source from the canal beneath.
The second half of the park had an interesting Adventure
playground, a rope-like structure which is quite an obstacle course. I reckon
this would be suitable for school-going primary kids because the rope structure
requires wider steps and some balancing, younger legs may fall right through if
not careful or sure-footed. Right along the way nearer Queenstown MRT and the
Queenstown library you’ll come across an old skate park.
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Gardens By the Bay Playground
Dec 2014
We met up with a couple friend of ours recently who had a
toddler interested to try out his new balance bike so we had lunch at Gardens
by the Bay and later adjourned to where ‘big brother J’ showed ‘small brother
N’ how to have a go at balance bike riding at the Gardens. J had a great time
along the shallow slopes whizzing down and looking a bit overgrown to be on a
balance bike but he didn’t care. Little N was happy to walk steadily saddled on
his small bike, very gungho indeed for a first-timer.
We had previously visited the Observatory to admire the
roses in bloom, just missing the tulip festival (see observatory pics above). But today, the kids wanted to
visit the adventure playground. There were some small fish-like structures and
a wet play area for our toddler friend who also enjoyed the wobbly wooden bridge leading to the treehouse.
treehouse bridge
interesting basket and climbing structures at treehouse
but the main adventure playground with
its obstacle courses and fast metal slopes were way over a toddler's league, more like
J’s idea of fun at 8 yrs. Both kids enjoyed the Treehouse-like structure which
had a wobbly wooden bridge leading to a climbing structure with circular
dangling nets globes hanging below it’s surface.
For school going kids, the adventure playground could challenge them with some fun obstacle courses. 
http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html
If you go in the evening, there is even a light show on. The gardens look magical at night.
see
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Gardens By the Bay Playground
Dec 2014
We met up with a couple friend of ours recently who had a toddler interested to try out his new balance bike so we had lunch at Gardens by the Bay and later adjourned to where ‘big brother J’ showed ‘small brother N’ how to have a go at balance bike riding at the Gardens. J had a great time along the shallow slopes whizzing down and looking a bit overgrown to be on a balance bike but he didn’t care. Little N was happy to walk steadily saddled on his small bike, very gungho indeed for a first-timer.
We had previously visited the Observatory to admire the roses in bloom, just missing the tulip festival (see observatory pics above). But today, the kids wanted to visit the adventure playground. There were some small fish-like structures and a wet play area for our toddler friend who also enjoyed the wobbly wooden bridge leading to the treehouse.
treehouse bridge
interesting basket and climbing structures at treehouse
but the main adventure playground with its obstacle courses and fast metal slopes were way over a toddler's league, more like J’s idea of fun at 8 yrs. Both kids enjoyed the Treehouse-like structure which had a wobbly wooden bridge leading to a climbing structure with circular dangling nets globes hanging below it’s surface.
For school going kids, the adventure playground could challenge them with some fun obstacle courses.
The metal slides were fun, according to J. Younger ones should be supervised, especially on the straight flat metal slide which one can go down rather speedily. The tunnel ones seems to be slower, according to J.
http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html
If you go in the evening, there is even a light show on. The gardens look magical at night.
see
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313 Somerset Playground
March 2014
Nestled
in the sky terrace on the 5th floor of 313 Somerset in the heart of
Orchard Road and just outside of Food Republic food court is a sheltered
playground with a difference.
We
didn't see the usual slides, climbing structures or swings but hands-on
interactive activities that young children could engage in like
puzzles, activities that trained hand motor skills and sensory stations.
The area of the playground is not large but it is situated next to a
nice sky garden terrace that creates a peaceful soothing green
environment for exploration.
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TICKLE TICKLE@ Delta Sports Hall
Dec 2013
This used to be called Atlantis and is a smallish indoor playground situated in Delta Sports Complex along Alexandra Road. Tickle Tickle also has a Hougang branch and they also rent Bouncy Castle for functions.
J was kinda old to be in there but he was attracted by the Castles and Knight play set. They have a decent range of toys to fit toddlers to pre-schoolers. Their pretend play toys are categorised and placed in huts or play tents called Mini Café, Repair Shop, My House, Supermarket which I find is very interesting for children. They have a range of vehicle and ride on toys. There are toddler play activity tables too. The place has a padded floor so it is suitable for toddlers.
Their playscape is rather small but sufficient for a small crowd when we visited on a weekday afternoon. There is a ball flying fox, climbing stuctures, mini slides, tunnels, ball pit, quite a standard 2-level playscape. They have an interesting verticle climbing tube which was quite popular with the kids, though.
Fees: $13 (weekdays) $16 (weekends and eve of PH), adults accompany a child free.
Opening hours: 10am - 7.30pm
Bouncy Castel Rental: start at $120 for self collection.
SENTOSA COVE ADVENTURE WATER THEMEPARK
July 2013.
When J and I arrived at the theme park (after J’s ice skating in the morning), it was almost noon and the crowds began to swell. It didn’t help that we chose to visit the park the first day it re-opened after the thick haze settled.
We headed for Bluwater Bay (stimulated wave pool, see pic above) where a sea of sunbathers bobbed up and down the waves which were rather strong, I must say. J had a good time with his god sisters there. The two 7 year olds also had buckets of fun (literally) with the 2 open slides at the Big Bucket Tree house (pic above) where the wait at 2pm was about 5-10 mins to get onto a slide. You’ll need to climb your way up stairs and netted ropes and try to avoid others splashing buckets of water on you as you climb up the 2-3 storeys. J's god sis was tall and she and her dad tried the Duel Racer (see top pic) where you lie down frontwards on a mat and slide down a steep slide.
There is a Seahorse Hideaway splash/wading pool for the younger children and the young ones can also go down the lazy river ride on the Adventure river on a big tube float passing through lush garden, water falls , a dark grotto (where the water is illuminated in blue, see pic below), a tunnel with marine life on top of you and the ray pool where you get to see the sting rays as you glide down the river, this was quite a treat for the kids.
We didn’t try to snorkel with the marine life at the Rainbow Reef (below pic) because the crowds were huge, the line was long and the bottom line is that I think it’s not environmentally friendly for the poor marine life who may be stressed out by so many visitors trying to touch them! But you can view the marine life from outside through glass panels and it’s a pretty sight on its own.
We ate pasta $12.90 (kid’s meal with a juice), sausage meals $14 and cold sandwiches $7 at the Bay Restaurant. Food wasn’t good and it was expensive.
I would have liked to try the other rides like Whirlpool washout, tidal twister and pipeline plunge but because of the queues (one hour long for each by 3pm), we decided to pick one. On the recommendation of our friend, J and I queued one hour for the Riptide Rocket without knowing what we were in for (J regretted it!)…while lining up for the ride, we saw that we had to sit a 2-man raft on a conveyor belt upwards to the top of the hill and then we couldn’t see what goes on after that until the raft splashes out of the tunnel into a 1.2m deep pool. It was a roller coaster ride actually, after you enter the tunnel downwards, you actually ‘fly’ upwards on a electro-magnetic track (defying gravity) and whizz downwards again and up again a few times. Poor J closed his eyes as he was rather terrified, not expecting a roller coaster ride on water! I on the other hand, enjoyed myself thoroughly and comforted him saying that at least he accompanied mummy who got to do a thrill ride on the eve of my birthday! J couldn’t walk straight after that and spent some time bobbing up and down in the wave pool before heading home at closing time (6pm).
Entrance fees are $29 ($33 peak) for adults and $20 ($23 peak) for kids below 12.
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MARINA SQUARE SHOPPING CENTRE PLAYGROUND
2 April 2013
Marina Square Mall Indoor Playground
This is located in Marina Square Mall on Level 2 somewhere in front of Mothercare and Kiddy Palace. I was on my retailer-visiting-rounds at these 2 shops and decided to drop J at the playground there. The playground structure is from Kompan. Kids get on the structure by climbing up a rather gentle slope with the help of plastic rock climbing stones or a rope ladder on 2 sides of the structure and exit via a metal/wooden slide or a fireman pole. I reckon the difficulty level of the climb into the structure will be suitable for 3 and above. Having said that, a young toddler can still slide down the not-so-steep slide if mummy or daddy carries him up. Given it’s a steel slide, a child can zoom down it quite fast, which added to the attraction of why it was popular when we were visiting the playground. Big and small kids were up and down the structure.
Younger ones can play on the springers on the playground too. There is a large car springer than can sit 2 kids at a time, which proved rather popular. J had a good time there because he made friends who decided to play catching up and down the structure.
There were quite a variety of kiddy rides in that area too, this will keep junior entertained for some time. We were there to catch the Dinosaur train performance which I must say is one of the better ones we’ve seen. It’s amazing that this show is not really showing in Singapore (though the animation is produced in Singapore) but it has a big following with dino-crazy kids like J who is, at 6 seen as a big kid in the audience.
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Port of Lost Wonder, Palawan Beach Sentosa
1 Jan 2013
We attempted to visit POLW when it first opened mid last year in 2012 but was put off by the crowds. So we were quite happy when my godson’s brother had a birthday party there recently, giving us the chance to check the place out. J was not too keen to change to his swim attire to join in the wet and wild fun which the other kids at the party were having, he commented the slides were not inviting enough, having just been to Wild Wild Wet recently and comparing the two, I think what really kept him away from the water the spouting jets of water being sprayed at people, he hates getting sprayed at.
The focus of attention at POLW is the big pirate ship with water features and slides. Surrounding the ship are water guns and jets. The slides are not steep and fast, they are small and of medium gradient so younger children (3-5 yrs) can enjoy them. I reckon the older ones like my son would prefer more exhilarating rides down steeper slides. I saw toddlers around the area but with bigger rowdy kids about the place on weekends, it is best to keep a watchful eye if you have toddlers attempting to do the water play. Some parts of the water play area are suitable for under 3s but for their safety, you may want to accompany them if there are bigger rowdy children around in case they get pushed or hurt. There were 2 crew member going around the ship watching the kids at play and ‘controlling traffic’ and safety.
Surrounding the pirate ship is a café called Port Belly and a shop. Next to these are deck chairs in a covered area for parents/adults to have a cuppa and lounge around while keeping a watchful eye on their charges. There is also an area where kids have a foam party play session which happens every hour or half hour on weekends, according to a schedule pinned up there. Further along you’ll find a sand play area where crew members may engage children in a game of marbles, skipping or some other traditional games. Next to the sand play area are patches of green grass and trees with big deck chairs and loungers, probably called the Picnic Area.
Daily activities are planned for the young ones, like story-telling, bubble party, art and craft, games and boogie time. You can check their website for the daily schedules of activities and time your visit.
foam party
The party was held on Celebration Island, a tent set up next to the Picnic area. We had a pleasant surprise visit by a crew and his hawk, the children loved the hawk and patted it though I think the hawk was not too pleased at being touched. I personally thought it was okay to let the kids take a pic with the bird but not let them touch it as this was not a natural way for the hawk to be handled, it looked quite distressed and flew up a few times flapping its wings. J saw on documentaries how these birds of prey can claw their prey with their sharp beak and claws, so he stayed a distance away and was the only kid who did not go very near the bird or stroke its feathers – a wise decision, I reckon.
POLW is located at Palawan Beach on Sentosa Island and opened from 10am-6.30pm. Entrance fees are $8 on weekdays and $15 on weekends, $90 for membership per annum. With admission fees, you’ll get some Curios for spending. Adults accompany free. The website states the water play area is suitable for kids between 3 and 10, kids below 12 have to pay entrance fees. Check out www.polw.com.sg
Tiong Bahru Park
J and I visited this park near my mother in law's house a year or so back but never got round to post this up. Hubby tells me this was one of the open places his mom used to bring him to run about when he was growing up but of course it only used to have a pond in the park without the current playground equipment. The pond was murky though so we didn't venture near it much. The unusual structure that attracts all kids must be the slanted locomotive train, which I must say is quite a challenge for a small kid to maneouvre on since the slants (once you are inside the train) are quite steep. But there are many ladders and points of entry and many slides, so it is a great climbing structure for kids to explore but younger ones will need some guidance and a helping hand to scale the train.
Pity I didn't take many photos here as J suddenly developed a tummy ache and I had to rush him to the toilet which was quite decently clean, to my pleasant surprise. The whole playground was built on sand, so there is also an option of sand play here. There is also a flying disc/fox structure but be a little careful, young kids will need help to get on and off the seat for this activity. There was also an old-fashioned large merry-go-round where J enjoyed with a whole lot of other kids on them! Like in the old days, there still is plenty of grass and room for kids to run around here, becareful they don't bump into joggers and cyclists though.
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Polliwogs@ Robertson Quay
The Polliwogs just opened a new branch at Robertson Walk #02-18, Unity Street. This branch does not have the huge outdoor bouncy castle found in the East Coast Park branch but it has a rock climbing wall, a water bed, flying fox, shooting guns, a revolving carousel and a water flowing slide (like those found in the Japanese Sing Kids Play systems). The play structure is not very big, it has 2 levels with the slide portion of the structure at 3 levels. Jerome went straight for the flying fox which he liked and the shooting ball gun game (which he played with some other bigger kids) made his day. He remarked that the wave slide was too slow for older kids like him and there were no tunnel/tube steep slides. There were the usual tunnels and soft obstacles in the playscape structure.
guns for shooting, a favourite with boys
Illuminated water bed is a great sensory experience for toddlers
We paid $20 for unlimited play on a weekday. This included a cup of coffee/tea for me although I did not drink either drink, the guy at the cafe didn't allow me to top up to buy an alternative drink, what a shame. They are open 10am-7pm on weekdays and 10am-8pm on weekends and PH. There was a toddler play area and a long stretch of tables and chairs along the plasyscape for adults to sit and chill. Food, like in $5.50 looked yummy. Ha ha, after paying $20 for entrance fee, I couldn't bring myself to buy any food to feed myself while I waited for Jerome to complete his fun.
Revolving climbing tower in toddler area. the toddler area had a small slide mimicking flowing water and a smaller playscape structure.
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Amazonia @ Great World City
Jerome was invited to a birthday party at Amazonia on the 3rd level of Great World City, recently. It was a Saturday afternoon and there were 2 parties going on at the same time. The place was crowded with screaming children and it was a riot! Of course the kids had a great time climbing the many levels of structures. This indoor playground is based on a jungle safari theme and the entrance fee of $33 (for kids above 3 years, for 2 hours play) was rather expensive compared to other indoor playgrounds, maybe because of the city location (higher rents). Members pay a little less at $27.50. Toddlers between 1 and 3 pay $22 for 2 hours of play. This entrance fee only allows you to get into the playscape and not the Laser Spaceball (see pic below) games ($5.35 for 5 mins) and the Glow-in-the-dark 3D Putters ($8.60 to play 9 holes) where the Dinosaur theme is (drats for Jerome looking forward to see some dinos). See http://www.amazoniafun.com
The play structure had the usual tunnels, ball pit,long tunnel slide, wavy open slide, trampoline but it also had interesting interactive games (see above) and monster spike-like items. The play zone is built upwards, very much like Go Go Bambini at Dempsey so parents can’t really see where their kids are (unlike the more open structures in Fidgets) and have to go into the play structure to summon the kids out when it’s time to go. There is a toddler area for children above 1 but under 3 (see pic below). There is also a bistro built around some ‘trees’ to give the jungle feel but the place was so crowded when we were there, there weren’t enough places for parents to sit around.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever bring Junior here again on my own, maybe on a weekday when it’s not so crowded and when he has company. Jerome had a great time here but the entrance fee is a rather prohibitive! Will think twice...
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Paragon shopping mall Level 5 Playground
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SINGKIDS @ vivo city
I didn't realise this indoor playground existed in Vivo City on the first floor opposite POSB and Starbucks at a corner until Jerome saw the poster (he is very good at spotting these fun places for himself!) which was not very conspicuously displayed.
$18 for 2 hours of play during off peak (child and guardian) and $18 for 1 hour during peak. Do bring socks or you'll end up paying $2 per pair. On first sight, my hubby felt that it looked more suitable for younger kids like toddlers till around 4 but looking at how our 5-year old enjoyed himself and found getting on and clinging on the dangling/hanging casourel a challenge, I think older kids will find fun here too, maybe up to 7-8 years old at most.
Singkids playsystem was designed by a Japanese company and they are also present in Changi airport terminal 3 (larger premises than vivo). Hence, their play structures and experiences are different from most indoor playgrounds we've visited, quite a nice change. For one, you see Jerome sliding down a small but interesting 'water slide' with flowing water and lights. At the background, you'll see a big teddy bear on a float, he spins around on a big tyre where kids can go up and down bouncing like a trampoline around him. You'll also see in the pic many blue and white balloons in an enclosed raised platform kind of room where air is pumped in at differnt angles to keep the balloons flying. Kids have a great time trying to walk through the sea of balloons to reach the big inflatable slide in the pic below which is bouncy and fun, according to jerome. The kids can walk up the side 'stairs' as seen in the pic.
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MBS & JUMPERZILLAS (now called Fidgets City)
We spent a day and night at the Marina Bay Sands in November and enjoyed the light and water spectacular called Wonder Full every night at 8 and 9pm on the Promenade. I must say this is more impressive (probably because its newer technology and smaller scale) than the much touted Hong Kong skyline night laser show which we found rather boring on our recent trip to HK.
We also tried skating in the rink and realised it's not ice skating but skating on plastic! Hence, it was easier to balance and thank goodness I didn't fall (thanks to some lessons previously at the Kallang ice rink) because it would have been embarassing since the rink was located right in the middle of the atrium next to onlooking diners at the food court! On his first attempt, Jerome fell about 10 times, quite good for a first-timer at least he got beyond just 'walking with skates' to do some short glides. See Michelle Kwan skate on the MBS rink in this youtube video and you see how close the people at the food court are to the rink! We were there at 10am (opening time) on Monday morning so we had the rink to ourselves safe for the crew filming someone attempting to skate for Japan Hour.
The play structure is quite standard of indoor playgrounds with tunnels, soft structure steps, slides, ball pits. What is a little different is that they have a trampoline, not found in some indoor playgrounds which jerome enjoyed tremendously.
I don't need to ask my boy to rate this playground as all indoor playgrounds are super-fun to him (and super ex for me!) getting a 9 or 10 rating most of the time but for me, this indoor playground, compared to others I've been, would be an 8/10. What's Good - extras like I-pad, wi-fi, playstation, craft, trampoline. Not so good - pricey.
See also my blog on infant-toddler and preschooler child development - sharing from my doctoral studies on early childhood education
Infant-toddler resource blog
Infant-toddler resource blog
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