10 November 2015

Wild fun for kids during the December school holidays!

Exciting nature activities specially for kids are lined up for the coming school holidays! Lots of fun ways to discover and enjoy Singapore's biodiversity!
Some highlights include: overnight nature camp at St John's Island. Nature camps at Sungei Buloh and Labrador Nature Reserve. Night walk to learn about bats. Specially for families, walks at Chek Jawa, Bishan Riverplains, Southern Ridges. Kids workshops on photography and museum documenting. And lots more!


FREE events

21 Nov (Sat): Documenting Nature Workshop for kids at the Natural History Museum

Would you like to be inspired by nature? Or be a naturalist for a day? If so, join us for our Documenting Nature Workshop, fully sponsored by Mitsubishi Singapore! This three hour workshop will begin with a gallery tour focused on Singapore’s biodiversity, pioneer naturalists in Singapore, as well as the vast array of techniques used by naturalists to document nature. During the hands-on portion, participants will have a chance to try out some of these techniques! These include activities such as writing in a nature journal, making a scientific drawing, and creating a ‘gyotaku’ print on a reusable bag, which can be brought home! Minimum age: 9 years. Adults are welcome too. Registration required.


21 Nov (Sat): Free Chek Jawa boardwalk tour with the Naked Hermit Crabs
The Naked Hermit Crabs introduce you to Chek Jawa without getting your feet wet. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, spiders, rare plants, wild boar, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle and the giant Atlas Moth. Not more than five persons in a group. Registration required.


Young Naturalist Camp at Sungei Buloh: 28 Nov (Sat) and 5 Dec (Sat)
This one-day camp encompasses a series of fun-filled and educational indoor and outdoor learning of the wetlands and nature conservation issues through worksheets, nature walks and hands-on activities.Limited to 40 children. Registration required.


5 Dec (Sat): Fun walk along the Southern Ridges
Take your family on a leisurely stroll through the Southern Ridges, a soothing sanctuary of greenery that is steeped in history and home to some of nature's greatest gifts of flora and fauna.  Highlights of the free tour include the Henderson Waves, Sembcorp Forest of Giants, Forest Walk and Singing Forest. Registration required.

Ecolife Family Tour by the Bishan Riverplains: 5 Dec (Sat) and 12 Dec (Sat) and 19 Dec (Sat) and 26 Dec (Sat)
A free two-hour tour which introduces the park and the biodiversity found in Riverplains through the use of interactive exploration themes and activities. The tour aims to encourage family bonding between parents and child through the process of learning together. Join us as we take you through this tour with worksheets provided and fun hands on activities such as doing up your very own underwater viewing scope. Registration required.


11 Dec (Fri): Photography Workshop for kids
Nature Through The Lens, a free Photography Workshop by Canon for kids. Join us this December and get a chance to explore the basic components of photography using a DSLR camera! There will be a theory session, followed by a practical session where participants will be able to explore the Singapore Botanic Gardens with the cameras. Thereafter, a sharing session will be set up to review and provide feedback on the photographs submitted by the participants. Suitable for children in P3 – P6 levels. Registration required.


12 Dec (Sat): Bird Watching along the Southern Ridges
Join us for this free birdwatching tour at the Southern Ridges, where up to 43 species of birds have been spotted so far. Volunteer guides from STMicroelectronics will take you through the Forest Walk and the Singing Forest in search of these beautiful birds. Do bring along a pair of binoculars or a camera with a zoom function for a better experience. Registration required.


MORE events

21 Nov (Sat): Numbers and Shapes -- a guided tour for kids
Follow a trail of numbers and shapes at the Singapore Botanic Gardens! Children will have the opportunity to discover some interesting characteristics about selected plants with special emphasis on leaves, their numbers and shapes. Suitable for children in K1 – P2 levels. $6 per child and $6 per accompanying parent. Registration required.


22 Nov (Sun): Kids! Explore Upper Seletar Forest with Cicada Tree Eco Place
If you are between the ages of 5 and 10 years, come join us and learn more about our forest and wildlife. We will gather under the huge and gorgeous kapok tree at Upper Seletar Reservoir Park, read "Under the Kapok Tree" by Lynne Cherry and do simple breathing exercises and animal poses to acquaint ourselves better with forests, our animal friends, and the challenges they face in a modern world. We will then go on a short guided nature walk into our lovely Upper Seletar rainforest. Families of the rare and shy Banded Leaf Monkey are regularly seen in the forest canopy here! $15 per kid (no charge for accompanying adults). Registration required.


23 Nov (Mon): Nature Keeper Camp for kids
Designed to stimulate the interest of the young and inculcate in them an appreciation of our forests.The Nature Keeper Camp will be carried out Labrador Nature Reserve. The one day nature camp also aims to nurture young minds in active protection and conservation of our natural heritage. Suitable for children 7 - 11 years old (Primary 1 to 5). $25 per child. Registration required.


28 Nov (Sat): NSS Kids’ Fun with Wetland Birds & Wildlife
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve’s 31-ha extension boasts cool facilities and scenic boardwalks. The spruced-up 171-ha old wing is richer in birds and wildlife. We will explore key areas in both wings for multitudes of migratory wetland birds, and if we are lucky, we might see animals such as the Smooth Otter, Estuarine Crocodile, Malayan Water Monitor, Mangrove Horseshoe Crab, Tree-climbing Crab, mudskippers and more. $5 per child (member) or $10 per child (non-member), fee will be collected on the spot. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to join in at no charge. Registration required.


28 Nov (Sat): The Wailing Forest -- a drama workshop for kids
"Grow With Nature" Drama Series: Through nature, we can learn and grow in character. The rich biodiversity in nature makes it a good teaching tool to develop children’s character through dramatization. Children will be encouraged to care for nature and to be aware of its biodiversity. In this workshop, learn how having too much comfort might not be a good thing in this workshop. Suitable for children in K1 – P6 Levels. $10 per child. Registration required.


30 Nov (Sat): Plants and Their Habitats -- a guided tour for kids
Just like us, plants need a home to provide themselves with food and shelter. Plant habitats are diverse, which include gardens, ponds and even deserts.  During this tour, children will be led to observe different plant habitats and explore the features of plants and understand how certain adaptations help plants survive. Suitable for children in K1 - P6 levels. $6 per child and $6 per accompanying adult. Registration required.

Let's Discover Plants and Animals - a guided tour for kids: 5 Dec (Sat) and 10 Dec (Thu)
Do you know that the garden is not only a home to plants, but also many fascinating animals, such as, birds, frogs, squirrels, butterflies, dragonflies, ants and earthworms? Be amazed by the many different types of animals you can find in the Singapore Botanic Gardens! Learn fascinating facts about wildlife in the Gardens and pick up tips on respecting them in nature and our environment. You may even have the chance to get up-close-and-personal with an oriental whip snake and a monitor lizard too! Suitable for children in K1 - P6 levels. $6 per child and $6 per accompanying adult. Registration required.


12 Dec (Sat): Bats are Beautiful! - night walk for kids
Join this night walk led by Cicada Tree Eco Place. Bats are awesome flying mammals. They are important to us as they help pollinate plants that in turn produce fruit for us. Insect-eating bats help control our pest populations, while fruit-eating bats help disperse seeds that contribute to our forests’ growth. Sign up now to enjoy a fun lesson and bat-watching session, combined into one thrilling evening! $25 per person. Registration required.


17 Dec (Thu): Overnight Nature Camp on St. John’s Island for kids
St. John’s Island, off the southern coast of Singapore, still has natural seashore ecosystems and amazing biodiversity. Here the coastal forest grows to meet natural sandy beaches, rocky shore and mangrove forest, to coral reefs off-shore. Dolphins are regularly sighted from this little island. Cost per adult: $100Cost per kid 6 to 12 yrs old: $80. Kids 5 yrs and below: $15 each. Registration required.



Sara the Forgetful Dinosaur - Children's guided treasure hunt: 12 Dec (Sat) and 17 Dec (Thu)

A giant forgetful prehistoric dinosaur has left its eggs in the Singapore Botanic Gardens! Children will discover some interesting members of the plant kindgom in this guided tour ending in a treasure hunt. Suitable for children in K1 - P6 levels. $8.50 per child (includes $2.50 "Sara, The Forgetful Dinosaur" Workbook). Registration required.



Go wild on your own!

You can also explore on your own! Check out the many DIY Trail Guideson the NParks website. More about our wild places on wildsingapore. A tip to avoid the crowds on school holiday weekends, come early. That's when wildlife is more active anyway. And leave before it gets too hot.

MORE school holiday activities on the wildsingapore happenings blog.