Child's Play at the National Museum of Singapore {Giveaway}

In addition to Masak Masak, Children's Season at the National Museum of Singapore this year also saw the launch of Play@NMS, the first dedicated area in the museum for young children. Tucked away on Level 3 of the museum, Play@NMS, unlike Masak Masak, is a permanent gallery designed with the purpose of helping children take their first-steps towards museum-going, with interactive exhibits and special activities that encourage learning through play. 

Stepping into the Concourse at level 1 of the museum, you will spy Play@NMS right at the top of a flight of stairs. Take the climb and this is what you'll find:

The EXPLORE gallery is the main play area, and this is divided into four sections, modelled after a home. Immediately past the door you'll find the Living Room, with a huge TV - and you as the star! The few times we visited, my little Miss enjoyed her "on-screen" opportunities, but what really got her attention were the comfy chairs, particularly the little one which was just her size. The big sofa on the other hand is an ideal slouchy spot and a great place to curl up with a book when you need a break from playing.

Not much my Mei loves better than to put on a show. Though she prefers it if no one's watching.

Puppets, to help you tell your own story!

Getting comfortable on a little chair made for little people.

Noey and his friends Dana and Isaac get comfortable.

Another popular area was the Kitchen. I don't know any child who doesn't love masak-masak, or pretend cooking, so as you can imagine, the kids were very happy messing in this area. There are two cooking stations, with one set a little lower for the smaller kids. You can also emboss a picture of a favourite Singapore dish, choosing between ice kachang, roti prata, chill crab and nasi lemak. You can later bring the picture over to another room to colour it. Personally I thought it would be better if they just set up a small table nearby for the kids to colour, that's exactly what they wanted to do once they embossed their pic.

Little T ponders the next dish he is going to whip up.

"Let's make Chilli Crab!" 

Getting familiar with the ingredients for different dishes.

Emboss a picture of your favourite Singapore dish.

The kitchen play area.

Colouring/Drawing on her embossed pic over in a separate room.

Behind the kitchen was Noey favourite area, the Bedroom. It was because of a comfy little tent which you could get into to watch some short films on the ceiling. He always spend a good amount of time in here every visit. In the other part of the Bedroom is a mirror with costume decals that kids can "try on" by positioning themselves accordingly. It was a bit of a letdown if you were expecting real costumes for dress-up. The kids didn't really bother trying them. 

Making themselves comfortable...

The last area is the Garden. It had a big tree and like a shape sorter, it had various flowers, leaves and fruit you could fit into it. Popular with the really little ones, though admittedly Mei's favourite thing to do was to carry the baskets for the shapes around!

Fitting in the leaves and flowers

Apart from the main hall, there is also an outdoor sundeck for kids to run around in and scribble on a giant chalkboard wall. This proved rather popular with our budding artists.

Scribble time!

In the weekends, there are also additional activities in the Create gallery where kids can do some art and craft. Play@NMS is recommended for kids aged 3-7, but I personally think kids 5 and under will enjoy it best. While I wish they had done more to make the play spaces more engaging and perhaps more relevant to the National Museum's positioning as a history museum, I am glad that there is now a dedicated space for kids, as I think this is the right step to getting kids (and parents) into the museum. Museums are in fact one of my favourite places to visit, and the kids and I have had many wonderful experiences in museums in Australia and the UK, and Play@NMS as a step in the right direction to make museums places of interest, fun and learning for kids.

Another way to reach kids is through books and in conjunction with the launch of Play@NMS comes Stacey Goes To The National Museum, a new title by author Lianne Ong. (We also previously reviewed her first book, Maxilla!)

Stacey is a little girl who goes to visit the National Museum with her mummy and ends up going on an unexpected adventure, with the help of a surprising little tour guide. As Stacey journeys through the museum, she encounters some of the Treasures of the National Museum and ends up at Play@NMS. I think it is a good initial introduction to the museum for the little ones, and a good read to pick up just before a museum visit. I particularly love the illustrations by James Tan as he manages to incorporate a wonderful amount of detail into his drawings and yet keep the style of the artwork simple and appealing to children.

This is the first book in an upcoming series -- Stacey and the Museums which will allow children to journey with Stacey through different museums under the purview of the National Heritage Board in Singapore. This sounds like a good idea and we are looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.

If you'd like to meet the author Lianne Ong and find out more about Stacey,  good news! Lianne will be making an appearance at the National Museum of Singapore's open house on National Day (9 Aug). There will be an exciting storytelling session and interactive activities such as a scavenger trail for the little ones in the Singapore History Gallery. Sounds like a fun way to spend an afternoon to me!

Stacey Goes To The National Museum is stocked at the gift shop of the National Museum, and is also available online from Armour Publishing at the special web price of $13.64 (15% off the RRP of $16.05).

GIVEAWAY! 

If you'd like a copy of Stacey Goes To The National Museum, here's your chance to grab one because I have ONE COPY to giveaway! To join this giveaway, simply follow the steps of the Rafflecopter widget below. The more steps you complete, the higher our chances of winning.

This giveaway ends on Friday 15 August, 11.59pm, and is open to Singapore residents only. Winners will be picked randomly and contacted by e-mail. Winners have 3 days to respond with their particulars, failing which a new winner will be selected.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. Hop over to Owls Well to join their giveaway to get another chance at winning a copy of Stacey Goes To The National Museum! Don't miss their cute book trailer too.