Attractions at Science Centre Singapore | September 2016

Yesterday we spent a whole day at the Science Centre! In particular, we spent most of our time at Tinker Fest.

Tinker Fest

Tinker Fest, organised by Imagin8ors and Science Centre, connects children, parents, educators and makers in a week-long celebration of the Joy of learning through play, exploration and experimentation. The theme of the festival “Nurturing 21 Century Learners!” seeks to highlight the foundational capabilities that we need to build in children from an early age, to equip them to succeed in a fast changing, technology driven world.

Parents and pre/primary school children (ages 3 upwards) can join the Tinker Fest for a wide range of all-day activities (walk-ins) and morning workshops (all fully registered) at the Tinkering Studio. The activities and workshops have been carefully designed to facilitate critical thinking, imagination & creativity, connect multiple disciplines like art and science, use technology purposefully, and build character traits.

Tinker Fest Workshops

There were workshops lined up from 5-9 Sep (Mon-Fri), and the one that we attended was on Thursday, Toys Transformed. Basically the aim of the workshop was to take apart old toys and transform them into new ones. It was near impossible for the creativity-challenged me, so I left it basically up to the kids to come up with something.

At the start of the workshop, the participants were asked to have some outdoor time first as a warm-up.

During the warm-up time the participants were asked to demonstrate what they had brought for the workshop. After that, we headed back in to start work.

The kids could work on the toys they had brought or add on to their stash with the ones provided.

So it was time to start dismantling stuff and finding out what was inside!! To be honest, it was my very first time taking apart stuff and checking out what was inside.

It’s the first time we allowed them to handle screwdrivers and pliers because the ones we have at home are pretty rusty. I think it was a really good experience! My boy concentrated on unscrewing everything and anything he could get his hands on for the whole session. My girl took things apart and one of the most interesting things she took apart was an ancient telephone 😛 OMG, it was the first time I saw what’s in a telephone – and a dated one too!

Besides dismantling, one of the other fun things they did was to play with bulbs, batteries and motors.

My girl eventually made a lighted car with propellers:

After everyone was done with their project, the kids gathered at one of the tables with their creation and it was really cool seeing everyone with their new toys!

Besides the workshop, there are other activities that you can do at the Tinker studio.

All-Day Activities

The Wind Table

Create a paper ‘helicopter’ and test out how it flies at the wind table!

This looked easy but trust me, there is so much knowledge that goes into making one that can fly beautifully! Nevertheless, the kids and my hubby tried. Their creations didn’t fly very well, but it was all in good fun.

Draw a Shadow

We also checked out the “Draw a Shadow” booth where children get to learn shadow formation, shapes, and “Abstraction”.

Marble machine wall

There’s also a marble machine wall which is always pretty crowded! My girl had a try at that:

After lunch, we checked out the relatively new show at Omni-Theatre – Dinosaurs at Dusk. It was pretty enjoyable and the kids liked it. You can check out the trailer here:

https://youtu.be/NIrzluDrtww

After the show, we headed back to the Science Centre. We continued with the Tinker Fest activities that we had not completed. There’s an activity card that you would collect upon first entering the Tinker Studio. Simply collect a stamp at each booth that you participated in and receive a cute badge when you complete the card.

Brush Bot Race

At this station, kids make brush bots and race them!

This is a winner with kids definitely. Here’s a video of an active brush bot:

First, my girl was taught how the brush bot works and how to make it and then it was time to race!

Domino Effect

Make your own dominos then line them up to watch the domino effect if you like!

Besides the Tinker Fest, we also checked out the Fun Spot which is located near the live animals section.

It was very informative for my girl. There she learnt about the life cycle of a bean seed and also discovered various bean dishes and their origins. It required too much writing to complete the handout so my little boy went off to check out the baby chick that just hatched.

Imagina8ors App Beta

Besides taking part in the Tinker Fest activities, you can download the Imagin8ors’ first app beta, available exclusively to a limited number of Tinker Fest participants from Sep 3. You can download it when you visit the booth at the Tinker studio where all the activities take place. The app features learning videos, activities and challenges, events, ideas and resources from Partners. Videos and activities etc. are curated based on what you have entered as your child’s interests so it is highly personalised for each child.

This app beta is currently available only for iPhone so it is difficult for me to show you more since I’m on android. But the android version will be out soon so I’ll probably show it to you then.

You can also read more at the Imagin8ors’ blog, Joy of Learning.

Tinker Fest

Dates: 3-11 Sep 2016
Timings: 10am – 6pm
Location: Tinkering Studio, Science Centre

There is no extra charge to attend Tinker Fest.

Disclosure: I was invited to check out the activities the Science Centre and its partners have to offer during September as part of the Science Centre Ambassador programme. No monetary compensation was received.