With October passing by in a blur, November is making its entrance into the year. For parents who have taken off from work to enjoy a long weekend during the Deepavali public holiday, this week can be a good time to go out with your kids when their year-end exams are done and dusted.
Whether you are looking to visit museum exhibitions or head to Pulau Hantu, don’t worry. We have put together a list of eight family-friendly activities for you to enjoy.
The Day of The Dead is a Mexican holiday to honour family, friends, and ancestors who have departed from the world. Despite its name, the festival is nothing if not festive.
While the festival is not widely celebrated in Singapore, Singaporeans can have a taste of it at the Día de Muertos Exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore. It features a 360 degrees pyramid to contain the main symbolisms of the celebration, as well as a market surrounding the pyramid.
The market serves to bring together the Aztec celebration and to showcase fruits and vegetables originally from Mexico.
While the decorations are definitely a little spooky, it is festive and entertaining enough for children.
From now until 2 November 2021 at The Salon, Level One. You can find out more here.
From 3 November 2021 onwards, vOilah! France Singapore Festival is rolling out many family-friendly activities that your family can enjoy together.
Programmes for this week include ‘The Little Prince – A Musical Journey’, which features the music of The Little Prince, narration by Hossan Leong, and hologram technology (the first time it will be used in theatre production in Singapore!). The workshop ‘Snack It!’ is also happening this week, with fun and entertaining games amid a bread baking and tasting session.
‘The Little Prince – A Musical Journey’ will be happening on the 3 – 4 November 2021. Tickets are $69. ‘Snack It!’ is scheduled for 6 November 2021, with tickets going at $30 for adults and $20 for children. Find out more here.
If your child loves Lego, then the official Lego fan event held by Singapore Brickfest 2021 will give them a good opportunity to feast their eyes on amazing Lego creations by other Singapore Lego enthusiasts. From 4 November 2021, the event will enter its second stage, where the displays will revolve around the theme of “Imagine”.
Whether your child is a Lego pro or a beginner, this event will show them that creativity has no limits.
Admissions are free. You can book up to two tickets per session. Find out more and register here.
If you have teens and want to take a trip out of Singapore for some reprieve, then visiting Pulau Hantu is an activity you can consider.
If you don’t know what Pulau Hantu is, it is an island about half an hour away from the main island via a fast boat. It is known for its rich biodiversity unlike anywhere in Singapore despite being sandwiched between a landfill and an oil refinery.
Interested in visiting it? Richard Kuah, who was once featured on The Straits Times, will be acting as a guide for the island under My Community SG. He will also share his experience as a citizen scientist who has observed the habitats.
There are two slots for the tour. One is on 5 November 2021, and the other is on 6 November 2021. Tickets are priced at $53.45 per pax. You can read more here.
If you are a fan of the arts, you would know that Singapore Writers Festival is back once again, with this year’s events running from 5 November 2021 to 14 November 2021. As usual, they have sessions catered to families and children that you can attend with your kids.
Some of them include ‘Adventures in My Lunchbox’ and ‘Detectives and Agents on Tour!’.
‘Adventures in My Lunchbox’ is a character bento-making workshop for the young ones and is conducted by Shirley Wong, Little Miss Bento herself. ‘Detectives and Agents on Tour!’ is for the fantasy-lovers as they travel with teen detectives and cat agents to solve mysteries around the world. They will learn how research lays the groundwork for any description of places they write about in the future.
Prices for the events vary. The bento-making workshop is scheduled for 6 November 2021 while the detective tour is slated for 7 November 2021. Find out more here.
The word “home” can bring forth many memories for everybody. Whether it’s you and your parents eating a feast on your birthday, or you and your child peaceful but fun day at home, ‘home’ can be many things.
Home and Home Away is an online playback theatre brought to you by Interwoven Threads that aims to expand on that. Over Zoom, audience members are encouraged to interact with the actors and share their stories with everybody. The actors will then act out the scene that has been brought up through the use of text, poetry, movement, music, and many other methods.
Sign up with your kids and see your memories come to life. Encouraging your little ones to share their own ideas of ‘home’ too; the programme is child-friendly and all stories will be performed respectfully. Who knows, you may learn more about your children along the way.
The show is set on 7 November 2021, 7:30 pm to 9:30pm. Tickets are priced at $5 per pax. Get your tickets here.
If you and the family need some downtime away from the bustle of the city, visiting the newly opened Therapeutic Garden may be what you need. The garden is divided into two sections, one for adults and another for children. Adults can look forward to a trip down memory lane as their garden caters to nostalgia from familiar sights such as chess tables and edible plants.
The children’s section is designed for children with mild autism, ADHD, and physical disabilities. There is a heavy focus on sensory experiences, with sensory zones for smell, touch, sound, and sight. These zones make use of play elements such as glow in the dark pathways to soothe children.
The gardens are open 24/7. Find out more here.
This year, Deepavali is celebrated on 4 November, which means that there is a whole month of activities for you to do to celebrate the Festival of Lights. For this week, you can head down to the Indian Heritage Centre for a drop-in paper lantern craft activity.
This event is free and teaches participants more about the festival, which is beneficial for children of all races and religions.
Happening throughout the week. You can find out more here.