Celebrating Singapore National Day on Baby Day Out

Singapore is celebrating her 48th birthday on 9 August come Friday. It’s the first time baby YT is celebrating National Day. When I came to know NTUC U Family is organizing a Baby Day Out @ The Lawn to celebrate the nation’s birthday, I signed up for it without hesitation.

On 3 August, we planned the day to be a national education for our little ones. We started with going on the Singapore River Taxi Cruise which is in fact a boat ride, to bring us on the Singapore River tour around the must-see landmarks in Singapore.  XX exclaimed it’s the first time she’s on a boat. I smiled and reminded her first boat ride was in Sydney when she was barely 3. Hmm… Maybe it’s not such a good idea to bring kids overseas when they’re too young. They cannot remember much except for the memories on an album.

Clarke Quay – Singapore River Cruise

The boat ride started at Clarke Quay “jetty”. Clarke Quay is a beautiful and happening day and night entertainment hotspot with many restaurants and pubs lining along the Singapore River. In the early days where the Singapore River was the centre of trade, it was a place where the commercial took place at the Boat Quay and goods transferred upstream to Clarke Quay.  Thanks to the Singapore government revamp of Clarke Quay from 1977 to 1987, you can now get a beautiful river view with Singapore’s night lights in the background as you wine and dine with your friends and family along the river bank.

On the Singapore River Cruise
On the Singapore River Cruise
Mummy and Baby YT
Mummy and Baby YT

The cruise ride went on to Boat Quay which is right at the heart of our CBD (Central Business District). Boat Quay was a place of early Chinese settlement designated by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1822.  It then flourished into an important trading area on the north bank where the Europeans had their offices, houses and government buildings.  I love the sky scrapers that spruced up along the side of the river bank, the old parliament house and the historical suspension bridge, the Cavenagh Bridge. Over here, restaurants and pubs line the river bank too.

Next, we cruised on to the Marina Bay area.  There, you can have a magnificent view of Marina Bay Sands, Singapore’s famous iconic hotel and casino. As that day was the final full-dress rehearsal of the National Day parade, we had an eye feast of the air show of helicopters and fighter planes as they zoomed past us overhead as our boat passed by the parade area. We could see a sea of red and white donning spectators (the Singapore flag is in red and white) as they cheered on the parade, waving the little national flags excitedly.

The taxi ride would have continued on to the Merlion Park, but we alighted at Fullerton as we were going to our Baby Day Out event.  For more information on the Singapore River Taxi Cruise, visit here.

Baby Day Out 2013
Baby Day Out 2013
Mass Picnic on The Lawn
Mass Picnic on The Lawn

When we arrived at The Lawn, many people were already relaxing on the orange picnic mats sponsored by NTUC U Family. There were many games booths for the little ones as well as stage activities.  I contemplated enrolling a baby race for Baby YT, but decided against it as kel reminded me that while YT can perform a perfect commando crawl on the stomach, it’s no speed compared to the real baby crawl on all fours with bottoms up. Alright, we’ll not subject him to stress competition. Instead, kel and I splitted to join the snake queues for the kids’ games.

Mini bowling game
Mini bowling game
Toss the ring game
Toss the ring game
DIY Keychain
DIY Keychain
Here's the keychains with the Singapore flag!
Here’s the keychains with the Singapore flag!
Kiddie Helicopter Ride
Kiddie Helicopter Ride

We were just in time when the emcee on stage asked everyone to rise up for the National Anthem “Majulah Singapura”.  Everyone stood up and we all sang the National Anthem loudly.  YH could not sing very well as he is still in pre-school which does not require them to sing daily.  XX, however, sings the National Anthem everyday in her Primary School.  Of course, kel and I were proud to sing the National Anthem too.  After that, we recited the Singapore Pledge.  I do not think any true born and bred Singaporeans will ever forget The Pledge.  We are so familiar with The Pledge, I think we can recite it in our sleep.

We are proud to be Singaporeans! Here we are, reciting The Pledge!
We are proud to be Singaporeans! Here we are, reciting The Pledge!

Throughout the event, we could hear the actual preview of the National Day Parade opposite us on the Floating Platform.  We sang along to the national day favourite songs, “Stand up for Singapore“, “Count on me Singapore“, “We are Singapore“, and “One People, One Nation, One Singapore“.  I told XX that the first time these songs were sung, I was about her age, 8 years old.  Till now, Kel and I could sing these songs without missing a beat.  Those were the days where the composers wrote spectacular national day songs that lasted for generations.

YH with his toothless grin holding the Singapore flag
YH with his toothless grin holding the Singapore flag. This photo is taken with my antique flashless Galaxy S1, hence it’s a bit dark.

At exactly 815pm, we were treated with a spectacular fireworks show right in front of our eyes as we relaxed on our picnic mats.  Baby YT was woken up by the loud fireworks and despite my hand over his chest, whispering to pre-warn him, he still cried.  Well, it’s expected and worth remembrance for his first fireworks show.  Everything is always a first for Baby YT.  Meanwhile, XX and YH were ecstatic and jumped up and down and clapped happily when they could make out the crescent, the stars, the heart-shapes, even mushrooms in the fireworks display.  The fireworks lasted about 10+ minutes with a medley of national day songs including Stephanie Sun’s “We will get there” and then the finale came with a non-stop burst of fireworks lasting almost a minute to the song of favourite Kit Chan’s “Home“.

XX and YH enjoying their picnic
XX and YH enjoying their picnic while waiting for the fireworks.
Yeah! The fireworks!!
Yeah! The fireworks!!

We enjoyed ourselves very much at the Baby Day Out, in particular, the fireworks.  As we walked to the train station, we sang along to the song of “Count on me Singapore” once more, together with all the spectators leaving the event.  It always touches me to hear Singaporeans sing the national day songs in unison.  Next year, I promised XX and YH that we shall try our luck to get the National Day Parade tickets.  Watching live parade is unforgettable.  It’s bound to set off the patriotic spirit in all of us and reach a high on our love for Singapore!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Children’s Seasons 2013 – Singapore Art Museum

Children’s Season has been held for several years till now. Each year there are many interesting activities organized for the children to introduce the Singapore museums to them in various fun ways.  This year in 2013, it is held from 18 May to 30 June.

The first of the museums that we visited is the Singapore Art Museum (SAM).  When we reached the SAM, we were re-directed to another nearby building called “SAM at 8Q” where this Art Garden for the Children’s Season is held.  There are in total 4 levels of art galleries and exhibition to be explored.

Level One – The Enchanted Garden City by Sandra Lee
Here is a little play area with colouring activities for the kids. This gallery mimics many fairytales with an Asian twist.  Remember to enjoy the wall paintings.  One of them has an Indian version of Rapunzel and an Indian prince rescuing her on an elephant!

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Level Two – Around the world in eighty worlds by Vicente Delgado
The artist wants visitors to explore this gallery with their imagination and see things from different views. For instance, what may seems like a doorway is actually an outline of a cat’s face with lamps as eyes.  Do you see its whiskers too?

Kids’ activities

You can get this Kaleidoscope kit for your kids by making a small donation of minimum $2.

This is how the finished Kaleidoscope looks like.

Art through fun games

You have to explain to your kids on these art work which may look ordinary but they have much meaning behind them if you observed how they are made and displayed with its orientation intent.

This bird moves when you pull a string below.

Turning the spiral eye wheel

This chair is a weird one with collapsed legs.

These few faces are not complete, you have to use strings to complete different expressions on the faces using your imagination.

String puppet

Mirror fun

Level Three – Stellar Cave II by Julien Salaud

This glowing constellation of stars is a beautiful and stunning work made entirely of screws and thread!

The Incredible Magical Expanding Room by Mojoko and Shang Liang

This room transforms when you speak through the microphone with soft and loud voices.  It really intrigues even the baby!

Kids’ acitivities – threading the screws to form pictures

Les Reves Engloutis – Glossy Dreams in Depths by Stephane Blanquet

This gallery is a little abstract.  It is a room filled with fantasy and dreams and the artist wants to encourage children to overcome their fears through the fun experience in here.

Look at this revolving wall with kids on the bed.  They are taken into a 3-D environment behind this wall.

Even the baby has fun!

This dreams-filled room has kids’ activities.

The children create masks.

Level Four – Love. Revolve the World by Sun Yu-li

This is an amazing art work by the artist Sun Yu-li and 750 students.

What is interesting is the entire piece is drawn by a dot plus a line and plane concept.

While we always think that the Singapore Art Museum only showcases masterpieces from various artists, we never knew that art can be exhibited in such engaging ways!  Our kids enjoyed themselves tremendously through the many activities organized for them.  While exploring the activities, they get to appreciate art unknowingly.  I feel that this is a great place for families to explore on a lazy weekend afternoon.

Admission: free for Singaporeans, PR and children aged 6 and below or

$10 (Adult), $5 (Students & Seniors aged 60 and above)

When: 17 May – 1 September 2013

Time: 10am – 7pm (Mon – Sun) 10am – 9pm (Fri)

WhereSingapore Art Museum at 8Q

Website: http://www.museums.com.sg