I’m getting pretty sick of the haze but since we can’t do much about it, here’s another indoor activity for the public holiday and weekend. We checked out The Art of Speed at the brand new Children’s Centre for Creativity by Playeum at Gillman Barracks and the kids had a blast! Details on location, opening hours and admission charges are right at the end of the post.

look for the pink elephant

Near the entrance is Vroom!, a section suitable for toddlers. I tried to get David to hang around within that space so I could chill a little and he spent some time there but was eventually more interested in the rest of the activities. It’s a small but interesting area for the younger kids with blocks, wooden vehicles, cushioned ramps, and a peg board of objects of different shapes, sizes, and textures to explore.

Vroom!

lots of different sounds and textures to see, touch and hear

Anya and Adam headed for The Dark Space for some Shadow Play. They experimented with how the shadows of the shapes shifted and changed as they pulled on a rope with a light source attached to it. They then put on headlamps and walked around the space to create their own moving shadows.

exploring light and shadow

shadow play at The Dark Space

The main attraction for all three kids was Create for Speed. Several race tracks were laid out in a row and the children manipulated the tracks around cardboard tubes and over ramps and wooden stools to create a race track with unique curves and loops before testing the track with little toy cars. But the kids really just wanted to build their own LEGO cars and fling them down the communal ramp to see which car would make it down the ramp and over the gap in one piece!

Create for Speed

having a go

building LEGO cars

trying to get cars over the gap in the ramp

Finally, the Play Maker Space allows kids (and adults) to use their imagination to make their own vehicle out of an assortment of recycled materials. We’re not talking about the boring stuff we hoard at home in the form of toilet rolls and random plastic containers! There are also cardboard tubes of varying thickness and length, wooden sticks, plastic washers, different types of wires and tapes, etc.

The older ones worked on building a ramp for marbles on the peg board wall while David and I tested vehicles on a ramp made from a plastic sheet. We found one made from Yakult bottles and plastic washers that worked very well and he played happily with that for some time.

play maker space

trying out a toy he found lying around

the older ones building a track for marbles

The Children’s Centre for Creativity encourages children to play and to create based on their imagination and provides them with some of the tools to do so. To be perfectly honest, it’s not an indoor playground where you can dump your kids while you hide in a corner and fiddle with your phone. Your kids will want you to play with them and to look at their clever creations or even build something big and amazing together and you’ll enjoy being engaged in their play. In fact, you may even get a bit competitive when it comes to building the best LEGO car that will make it down the ramp and across the gap without breaking apart.

Children’s Centre for Creativity
Blk 47, Malan Road
Gillman Barracks #01-23
Singapore 109444

Opening hours:
Tue to Sun, 10 am – 6 pm

Admission charges:
Child (aged 1–12): $20
Accompanying adult: Free
Additional accompanying adult: $10