Celebrate Children's Day With New And Fun Experiences At National Gallery Singapore

● Families can look forward to online offerings such as the brand new GalleryKids! website experience and the first-ever museum membership programme for kids in Singapore
● New onsite activities include interactive installations inspired by Singapore artists and their works

GalleryKids national gallery childrens day

This Children’s Day, National Gallery Singapore presents a host of fun-filled art experiences for the whole family to enjoy, whether at home or during their next visit to the Gallery. Alongside new multi-sensorial experiences onsite that will help children unleash their creativity and discover their artistic abilities, families can also have fun at home with online activities specially developed by the Gallery.

Highlights include a brand new GalleryKids! experience comprising a refreshed interactive website that allows children to create and explore art through a variety of learning approaches, and an immersive onsite experience, An Artist’s Tropical Landscape – part of the Gallery’s biennial children’s festival Small Big Dreamers, which started in June 2020.

Exciting online experiences that parents and children can access at their convenience include:

● GalleryKids!: From ~~10 October~~ (postponed to a later date), children can experience a richer and more interactive GalleryKids! experience with the all-new GalleryKids! website. Children with different learning dispositions will be able to foster a curious mindset, creative expression, and a community of learning and discussions through a new user experience that encourages intuitive exploration, creativity, play and sharing. Other than newly launched content such as downloadable activities, art-making videos and games that will be available all-year-round, new features include shareability of site content to external sources such as social media platforms and the ability to submit their artworks for display on the GalleryKids! site.

Children can also be part of the GalleryKids! community by signing up for free membership online. Members get to collect monthly virtual badges for the completion of activities and enjoy a more personalised website experience with exclusive features such as bookmarking of their favourite content, and a personal record of activities they have participated in. Specially for the launch on a later date, children who sign up as members will get the opportunity to redeem a special gift every weekend at the Gallery’s Keppel Centre for Art Education.

Membership sign-ups can be done in the comfort of your home or at the Gallery. The GalleryKids! website is accessible here.

● Chats with #SmallBigDreamersAtHome: In this exclusive video interview launching on 10 October, kids and families can get up close and personal with one of the festival’s key artists – Dr. Ruzaika Omar Basaree – who created the work Dungun Siri II in 1978.

Offering an intimate glimpse into her life and work, audiences are invited on a journey between her home and studio to discover what a day in her life looks like. Along the way, they will get a chance to learn about what inspires her, and listen to her responses to questions posed by other curious young minds. This video will be available on the #SmallBigDreamersAtHome website.

Immersive on-site experiences at the museum for children include:

● An Artist’s Tropical Landscape: Running from 19 September 2020 to 28 March 2021, An Artist’s Tropical Landscape comprises a series of safe and engaging interactive activity stations for children, inspired by beloved Singaporean artist Georgette Chen’s artwork Tropical Fruits. Children aged six to twelve will get to explore the fascinating world of tropical fruit that Georgette Chen discovered when she left China and moved to Southeast Asia and learn more about how artists are inspired by their sensorial experiences – what they see and feel. Visitors will get to enjoy a series of fun and engaging activities such as drawing fruits and composing still life drawings, and engage in sensorial play in the curious audio area, where kids can listen to the sounds various fruits might make. In addition, there is also a life-sized Rambutan Room, where augmented reality kinetic games await.

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of visitors, only up to 15 individuals will be allowed within the space every 30 minutes, and cleaning and disinfection will be carried out 4 times a day. Pre-booking via the Gallery’s ticketing platform is required. Activity packs containing a selection of art materials, disposable gloves and a kid-sized disposable mask are also available for purchase onsite.

An Artist’s Tropical Landscape is part of this year’s edition of Small Big Dreamers, which launched as an online art festival for children, #SmallBigDreamersAtHome, in June this year.

● Art Playscape and Ink Studio at Keppel Centre for Art Education: The latest edition of Keppel Centre for Art Education’s imaginative Art Playscape will be launching on 9 October in collaboration with Singapore artist Yeo Shih Yun, whose practice involves experimentations with ink medium, film and new media. Through a series of interactive kinetic zones, children will be able to discover and learn about gestures, movement, and spontaneity in the creative process through play.

Yeo also collaborated on Ink Studio, as part of Keppel Centre for Art Education’s Children’s Museum Workshop, which allows children to learn about the techniques, materials and processes of experimental ink painting. Through the ink painting process, children can discover unusual tools and methods while developing an awareness and appreciation of how artists play, experiment and allow for ‘mistakes’ in the creative process.

Visitors will have to adhere to safe management measures at Keppel Centre for Art Education.

Membership Programme Details

Parents can sign their kids up to become a member of GalleryKids! which will allow kids to take charge of their journey, complete activities and collect monthly virtual badges.

As a launch special in October, sign up as a member and be the first 200 to visit us at the Gallery every weekend to redeem a special gift

*Redemption is limited to the first 200 on Saturday and Sunday (each day), on a first come first serve basis, starting from 10am.

Other benefits include:

Special GalleryKids! Meals for members only at selected dining venues with each visit to the National Gallery Singapore.
10% discount for Gallery Children’s publication
Monthly newsletters featuring new GalleryKids! Programmes
Collect virtual badges when you complete various GalleryKids! Activities
Participate in special programmes with other members
First dibs for events and festivals specially created for children

Children’s Museum Workshop: Ink Studio programme details

Make and display your own painting

An activity and display area for children to experiment with painting and display their art pieces.

Younger children develop observation skills through kinaesthetic play and learn about movement, shape and rhythm. Children imagine they are a paintbrush or a blob of paint, and explore how their body movements create wavy lines. Children develop observation skills through a ‘Mix and Match’ game where they match a paintbrush to a colourful brushstroke.

Painting robots

We ask children “Will Robots replace Artists in the Future?” Children get to see ‘painting robots’ created by Yeo Shih Yun, that move and paint. Children observe ‘chance’ in action.

Drop-In Activities and Learning Programmes

Drop-In Activities are offered at the Centre every week. The activity content and format changes monthly. Learning Programmes are conducted on weekends and programmed quarterly. Programmes may be conducted at the Centre or around the Gallery.

It’s the weekend and are you looking for things / activities to do? Check out our weekly roundup of Things To Do This Weekend In Singapore.