Fun things to do with family on saturday night

Are you looking for inspiration for your weekend? Why not take the kids off to a green park to play or check out a kid-friendly café with a playground! If you need more inspo, here’s our weekly roundup of weekend activities and kids’ events!

1. Angpao Lantern Making & Calligraphy Workshops

There are some exciting events in Chinatown this Saturday for you to enjoy with your family! From handicraft workshops – Angpao Lantern Making (2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm), Calligraphy workshops (2pm, 4:30pm) to gem appreciation (4pm)! More info here. Plus read our complete guide to Chinatown (including best restaurants) here.

2. Nature Sketching in the Gardens (FREE!)

Looking for arty workshops to do with the kids? Join this free nature sketching workshop in the Botanic Gardens. Volunteer artist, Mr Tham Pui San, will guide you in acquiring drawing and observation skills as you draw plants and leaves in nature. Registration is required 15 minutes prior at the Service Desk (Tanglin). Limited to 20 persons. Do bring along your own sketching materials such as A4 paper, 2B & 4B pencils and a water colour set (optional). Read our guide to the Botanic Gardens here.

3. Check out the Light to Night Festival 2023 (FREE!)

The Light to Night Festival is back from 6 – 26 January 2023 in the Civic District! Get your cameras ready for over 60 stunning immersive and multi-sensory experiences. One of the must-sees is the iconic Art Skins on Monuments – the biggest facade light show in Singapore with stunning light displays! Look out for live performances plus large-scale day-to-night art installations. The Art X Social festival market also returns with over 50 booths of arts and crafts, food and beverage, workshops and more! Admission to the Light to Night Festival 2023 is free, and there are programmes on from as early as 10am until midnight.
Good to know: National Gallery Singapore will be offering free entry to all visitors on Fridays to Sundays during the festival period and extend its opening hours to 11pm on the same days.

4. Kids’ activities at SAM (FREE!)

Take the kiddos over to SAM for the bi-monthly event featuring a line-up of programmes and activities designed for all ages! Parents can bring their young ones to participate in craft activities and explore ongoing exhibitions, or simply enjoy the wonders of contemporary art at SAM. At the Drop-in Craft Activities (7 January, 1pm – 5pm) kids will get the chance to create their own creatures inspired by artist Haegue Yang’s unique sculptures, as well as create their own pin badge! Plus look out for performances by BLOCO Singapura (7 January 1:30pm, 2:30pm, 3:30pm, 4:30pm). There will also be curated art tours and SAM Late Nights on 6, 7, 13 & 14 January where visitors can enjoy late night music and performances as well as a night market from 6pm till late.

5. Performances, poetry, & storytelling: Textures literary festival (FREE!)

The annual literary festival Textures returns to celebrate Singapore literature through live performances, poetry recitals, storytelling, art installations, pop-up book stores, and more. Head over to The Arts House, National Gallery Singapore and participating neighbourhood libraries for a storytelling session or interactive activities specially curated to spark literary curiosity in the young and the young-at-heart!

– A bilingual Chinese and English story & cartooning session: (for kids 4 – 6 years old) with the DIM SUM WARRIORS 点心侠. (7 January 11am – 12pm) at Woodlands Regional Library.
– Upper secondary students and adults can learn how a writer finds extraordinary ideas from everyday life and transforms them into an exciting story for readers (conducted in Malay): 7 January, 1:30pm – 2:30pm at Woodlands Regional Library. Register here.
– The author of the best-selling book Mist-Bound: How to Glue Back Your Grandpa will take readers (10 – 12 years old) behind the scenes to explore the making of Mist-Bound and its creatures: 8 January, 11:45am – 12:30pm at Woodlands Regional Library. Register here.
– A multilingual poetry reading with calligraphic performance: 13 & 14 January at 8pm at The Arts House, Chamber. Register.

6. Plan ahead: Live graffiti art & activities: Aliwal Arts Festival (FREE!)

The Aliwal Arts Centre is set to come alive with activities! Taking place on the last weekend of Singapore Art Week 2023, the Aliwal Urban Arts Festival will feature renowned local artists from different urban art practices in an exciting array of free activities such as live graffiti painting, music and dance performances, and a pop-up artists’ market in the heart of Kampong Gelam. Watch as the façade of the side alley wall at Aliwal Arts Centre is transformed with graffiti art, experience an array of activities from silkscreen printing, to fixing a bike, graffiti workshops and tours around Kampong Gelam at the Black Market and more!

7. Plan ahead: Take the kids to the Singapore Motorshow

Do the kids love cars? Take them to Singapore’s largest and most iconic motoring event, the Singapore Motorshow! More than just a car show – expect to watch the iconic Russ Swift Stunt Show, discover all-new models from 24 automotive brands, explore an extensive line-up of electric vehicles, meet-and-greet MediaCorp celebrities, and even walk away with a Nissan or Subaru car at the lucky draw. Throughout the four-day event, witness heart-pounding stunts including Swift Parking, J-turns, Donut moves, and dance routines by three-time Guinness World Record holder Russ Swift. Lucky visitors can also expect to be on the edge of their seats as they join Russ Swift in his breath-taking stunts! Ticket Prices: $8 per person per entry (free for kids below 1.2 metres in height).

8. Go ‘hunting’ for the 4 new giants on Sentosa! (FREE!)

The giants are here! Little Lyn, Reef the Chief, Curious Sue, Dreamer Dee – collectively known as Explorers of Sentosa, have landed on the shores of Palawan Beach in Sentosa! ⁠The family of four giant sculptures were made using reclaimed wood, by internationally renowned Copenhagen-based recycling artist Thomas Dambo, and each took approximately 700 hours to build. ⁠ ⁠ With the help of an interactive online treasure trail map, visitors can join the search for the Explorers of Sentosa, an experiential mixed-media installation, by first discovering “breadcrumbs”, which contain codes to unravel clues that would lead them to the sculptures.⁠ ⁠The sculptures will be free to view and situated along Palawan Beach till 2024.

More great things to do on the weekend with kids in Singapore!↓

Visit the Children’s Museum Singapore

Singapore’s first-ever dedicated children’s museum, the new Children’s Museum Singapore (CMSG), is now open – read all about it here! Brimming with interactive exhibits and hands-on fun, CMSG offers kids a chance to learn about Singapore’s heritage and culture in a way that will spark imagination and curiosity. Book ahead for Jan here.

Check out Jurassic Nest food court with dinosaurs

If you have little dino fans and are in the Gardens by the Bay area, head over for a meal at the newly opened Jurassic Nest dinosaur-themed food hall. You’ll find 18 dinosaurs including a T. rex and Brachiosaurus, which will come alive, roaring to original soundtracks (approximately three minutes each time). Catch the dinosaur ‘show’ with free admission every hour from 12pm to 8pm. You’ll also find Michelin-starred brands serving up a range of Asian cuisine from Hawker Chan’s Chicken Rice and Tsuta Ramen to Mama by Putien. Catch the other static dinosaurs scattered across the food hall while you dine on your favourite foods. Don’t miss the new educational trail that takes you around the gardens on a prehistoric adventure to learn more about the unique diets of herbivorous dinosaurs! Check here for opening times.

Go on a pony ride!

Take the kiddos (as small as 3 years old) for a short pony ride at Gallop Stable – there’s one at Horsecity (Bukit Timah) and Pasir Ris Park, and rides are just $10. There are two sessions of pony rides on weekends (details here). Helmets will be provided and all pony rides are fully supervised by trained staff.

Visit Science Centre (the Fire Tornado demo is back on!)

A visit to the Science Centre Singapore is all the more appealing now that water play is back on; plus the Fire Tornado exhibit is finally back in action too! Come face to face with one of the most terrifying and spectacular phenomena as you marvel at the fire tornado and its flaming vortex that takes place in a specially built chamber. The column of fire reaches over 600 degrees Celsius and makes quite a spectacle while bringing science to life for kiddos! Read our guide to Science Centre here.

Check out a newly reopened rooftop water park (FREE!)

The free rooftop water playground at Tampines 1 mall has finally reopened! Kids will love splashing around the animal-themed play space that has a few little slides, sprinklers and water fountains. There’s also a dry play area with a slide and a wash area to get cleaned up afterwards. See more pics of this water playground here. This new water park is free to enter. Read all about Singapore’s free water play areas here.

Have fun at a Dino-themed Water Playground (FREE!)

Dinosaur fans, not only is there a new Dino-Quest exhibit at Suntec with animatronic dinosaurs, interactive dinosaur exhibits and plenty of hands-on activities but there’s also a new dinosaur-themed water playground at Causeway Point that’s completely free! The Dino-themed Water Playground just opened this week – if you’re excited to see what’s in store watch our video here. There’s a Toddler Dino Zone, Adventure Volcano and Crater Zone. Kids will have a blast zooming down the two long slides, running through the dinosaur ribcage with water jets and watching the volcano erupt (with water!). In the evenings, the Dino-themed Wet Playground comes alive with neon lights!  Entry is free and no pre-booking is required.

Read More: 16 Places Where Kids Can See Dinosaurs in Singapore

Visit The Arena @ Keat Hong (FREE!)

The newly opened free Choa Chu Kang outdoor playground, also known as The Arena @ Keat Hong, is making waves with its three amazing playgrounds for kids of all ages. From a stunning treehouse-like tower and massive slides that loop multiple times before reaching the bottom, to pirate ship play equipment and swings, there is something fun for children of all ages in each of the three playgrounds. Read all about this playground and 20 other free spots to take the kids to play, here!

Check out food-themed play space at The Artground (FREE!)

The Artground has a new playspace with a foodie theme! Part indoor playground, part arts and interactive theatre space, The Artground offers heaps of movement and dance workshops along with arts and craft activities. The new play installation, Masak Masak, features a food-themed play area with food-related installations to play with. From climbing huge bowls of cendol to jumping on an egg tart trampoline, and making prata and kopi at their own ‘hawker stalls’, there are so many fun things for little kids (best for toddlers up to 6 years old). Check out our Instagram Reel for all the highlights! Free to enter the playspace but special programmes are ticketed.

Head to the Singapore Zoo for water play!

Singapore Zoo’s Wet Play Area at KidzWorld is hands down one of our kids’ favourite spots! This water play area is the best thing after a morning spent seeing all the animals in the zoo. Don’t forget to book a slot to feed some of the animals from giraffes to rhinos and elephants, plus see the educational animal shows while you are there! Read our full guide to Singapore Zoo here.

Have fun at Jurong Lake Gardens (FREE!)

Treat the kids to a play at Jurong lake Gardens’ playground Forest Ramble. The water play is open and the main playground is lots of fun, with structures to climb on and a long slide too. There are 13 different adventure play areas to explore at Forest Ramble, with mini trampolines, rope obstacle courses and other equipment that is nature-inspired based on the actions and motions of the animals that inhabit the freshwater swamp. More info on the Jurong Lake Gardens here.

Take the kids on a street art hunt (FREE!)

Looking to get the kids out walking? Make it fun by spotting street art along the way! Check out our most comprehensive list of recommended street art murals sorted by neighbourhood here. Head out with a fully charged phone (for all those cute pics) plus a paper and pencil for the kids so they can search out “treasures” that you can challenge them to find.

Ride the playground “train” at Tiong Bahru (FREE!)

Looking for outdoor playgrounds where the kids can let off some steam? The playground in Tiong Bahru makes for a fun kids activity and when the kids have had enough of the choo choo train, you can head to the Wet Market to gorge on pau at Tiong Bahru Pau (or grab a croissant at Tiong Bahru Bakery). We wrote a whole guide to Tiong Bahru neighbourhood here or check out this article for a list of other amazing outdoor playgrounds that are all FREE!

WATCH: 12 Best Playgrounds in SG

Looking for more inspiration for Things to Do in Singapore with Kids? Read this!

All event information is supplied by third parties. Check with the venue before you make weekend plans!

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