I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Free attractions for kids are AWESOME. To the delight of parents and kids, a new Children’s Garden will be opening at Gardens by the Bay in Jan 2014, and it’s totally free-of-charge!
The Far East Organization (FEO) Children’s Garden may be offered to members of the public at no fee, but the whole place’s nothing short of amazing. When we popped by for a preview last weekend, the kids had such a great time that we can’t wait to go back again when it officially opens in a month’s time! The preview’s specially arranged for ‘Friends of Gardens’ members, so the members are really in for a treat before the place is open to everyone!
Going by the same vision as Gardens by the Bay, the FEO Children’s Garden is not only fun, but it’s also beautifully decorated and designed with lots of floral arrangements and clever use of elements of the Nature. The Garden’s really beautiful and yet fun for the kids at the same time. I also love it that they have different sections for the younger toddlers below 6 years old, and those older between 6 to 12 years old. Parents with younger toddlers do not need to worry about their kids being pushed around by the older and sometimes, rougher kids. The structures designed for them are smaller and thus safer and more manageable for their age. That is a really thoughtful concept.
FEO Children’s Garden is made up of 4 sections: Adventure Trail, Toddler’s Play, Water Play and Fish Fountain. My kids enjoyed themselves at every one of them.
ADVENTURE TRAIL
At the Adventure Trail, kids can try balancing on horizontal beams, hang from monkey bars, take a quick swirl down their slides and even climb up and down their Treehouse! This is also the biggest section among the four.
This section is actually meant for 6 – 12 years old, so for some of the balancing beams, Jayne had some difficulty completing them. Nevertheless, she was having tons of fun!
Along the way, you will find staff from Gardens by the Bay watching over the kids to make sure that everyone’s playing and having fun safely. For an outdoor playground that’s offered free-of-charge, I thought this was a very nice gesture.
Check out the tunnel slides! Made of metal though, so they get pretty hot under the sun. There’s a signage next to the slide warning that they may be hot, so got to careful. We found one slide that was not directly under sunlight exposure, so the girls went several slides down!
You cross a suspension bridge to get to the Treehouse – So fun!
And yes, since this is part of Gardens by the Bay, expect to find really pretty flowers as decorations along the way. :)
The treehouse is a modern architecture of some sorts – Not the traditional one built around a tree. If you observe carefully, you will agree with me that it’s inspired by the SuperTrees, for sure.
As you can see, even I managed to have some fun on the Treehouse. :P
TODDLER’S PLAY
The Toddler’s Play is like a miniature of the Adventure Trail, meant to cater to toddlers between 1 to 6 years old. The structures are so cute and tiny!
WATER PLAY
This might be the kids’ most favorite section because it’s a huge water fountain playground. It also happens to be my favorite because this is an ingenious combination of a musical fountain and a water playground. Lounge chairs are provided near the water play area for parents to sit and wait while the kids go crazy inside the playground. While waiting, I was so entertained by the lovely music pieces and the water fountain ‘performances’. The synchronized water dancing and movements make it a real visual treat for the waiting parents. With the gorgeous Cloud Forest and MBS as the backdrop, I think I found my new fav place to chill at Gardens by the Bay.
Since this is Gardens by the Bay, the theme of the water playground is naturally flowers. The giant orchid buckets splash down water at intervals – A real kid-thriller!
FISH FOUNTAIN
This is a small section of water play area for younger toddlers who might not dare to venture into the water playground. Located just next to the water play area!
I’m quite sure every kid will have tons of fun at this new Children’s Garden. I bet you can’t wait for it to be opened in January too, I believe! :) To end off, here is a video clip of the water fountain playground I captured – Just to let you have a feel of how it’s like to have lovely music and pretty water fountain performances happening right before your eyes. :)
Looking forward to the grand opening in Jan 2014! :)
