The Playdome at the National Museum

While Noey doesn't attend school just yet, I love the school holidays because a whole host of kid-friendly activities will spring up around the island. One of the events which I have been waiting for is Children's Season organised by the National Heritage Board and Museum Roundtable. This year's edition will run from 14 May to 31 July 2011.

A couple of weeks ago, shortly after it started, we went to check out Playdome at the National Museum with Kate on a Wednesday morning.

Messing around with the outdoor installation on the front lawn.

When we arrived, Noey spent some time on the front lawn, where his favourite activity was to shake the poles and send drops of water raining down on himself. That was courtesy of the earlier downpour and was not the intention of the installation at all! There were also two tubes which appear to be scopes, through which you can look through to the design above the entrance of the door. There are dials which you can turn to superimpose some designs on the image. Honestly, I didn't really get it.

It was a bit of a bummer that due to the rain, several outdoor sections were closed. Still, we made the most of it.

Noey's favourite station in the Black Box -- the giant Kaleidescope. You can create patterns by walking into the camera frame, or moving the items on the floor, and Noey got a kick out of seeing himself (and Mummy) repeated manifold in the different patterns.

Noey tries to colour a mask while Kate checks out the stage. Noey really wanted to put his artwork on the wall display, but would not sit still long enough to finish it.

Easily both kids' favourite installation -- the maze in the Sensory Studio. They had loads of fun chasing each other in and out through the maze. Then later, playing with the magnets which they used to stick pieces of cloth onto the panels for drawing. They couldn't really draw patterns, which was what they were intended to do.

There was an interactive tour of the Living Galleries which was due to start so we decided to go for it. Not knowing what to expect, I though this turned out to be rather interesting. We were led through the 4 galleries (on Film, Fashion, Photography and Food) by 3 actors, who through a simple script set in the 1960s, sought to draw your attention to the items in each of the galleries. I pitied the fact that we were their only audience but they gamely tried to involve the two 2-year old tots and pitch some of it at their level, which was nice. Noey surprised me by actually participating and answering questions when asked. It was quite fun, certainly more so than walking through the galleries ourselves.

Walking with the Mak Chik through the Food gallery.

On the whole, I was a little disappointed with Playdome, which I think would have been more fun for older kids who could draw and appreciate patterns and the like. I don't know if it would have made a difference if some of the other outdoor areas had been open.

Anyway, next up is the Singapore Art Museum. Looking forward to that!