Singapore Art Museum Children's Exhibit

During the summer months, many Singapore museums have exhibits entirely geared to children or adapt their collection to have a treasure hunt or other kid activity. One of our favorites last year was the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) which had exhibit after exhibit catered to children. Here were Noah and Daniel "making art" by sticking stickers on an elephant.

And Noah dropping colored pucks down a plastic chute. He loved this exhibit so much that when we mentioned going to the museum with children's exhibits he remembered and asked whether he could play with the colorful rounds (it took us a while to realize what he was talking about) ... 

Last year, we had to drag Noah and Daniel out of the museum. This year the SAM children's exhibit was in the museum annex and took up the entire building. On the ground floor there was a bright white room with sand drawings on the walls and floors (the wall ones were protected by plastic). 

As visitors walk on the ground with their very cool slippers, they change the colors and patterns - Here Noah, "making art". He was excited at the concept that he was helping to shape the work of art, finding the most colorful corners and dragging his feet on them to change them.

In another exhibit, the artist used modeling clay which hardens when it dries and everyday objects to create patterns.

Next to the exhibit was a little workshop. Each person received a pre-cut piece of modeling clay with a small magnet on the back to put on the fridge and chose an object from a bowl to create their own patterns (you could follow instructions on how to make certain patterns but Noah preferred to improvise).  Here Noah  creating patterns with a key... His creations (he asked to do mine and Seth's) are now hardened and on our fridge... a cool idea that we often forget - that even boring and mundane objects can be used in novel and fun ways to create/make something.

Since then we have hunted around the house for various objects that could create some fun patterns and have used them on the bubber - a fun activity I had somehow not thought of before.

Above, Noah jumping excitedly in front of the pattern exhibit. Below, Noah was decorating a tree.

Which he then stuck to a wall among other trees - to make a colorful forest.

Climbing the staircase with Daddy with a mural in the background.

Noah singing to the wall... the louder you sing/talk, the more characters appear on the wall...

Noah singing and the wall in front becoming more and more animated.

Can you find Noah and me? We stepped into a booth where music played and we danced and then our little dance sequence was included in a grid with other dance sequences.

Then he got to draw on a box...

And put it up on a wall of boxes...

He also dressed and undressed various characters (they had this exhibit also last year).

He really enjoyed the next activity - the octopus was white but when you moved in front of it or touched it, it turned purple...

Then multicolored.

This room looked pretty cool. It was dark with fluorescent lights with origami flowers and leaves hanging from "tree branches" and creepers.

Noah hiding among the origami forest.

Next to the room was a workshop space where there were instructions to make the various origami patterns and museum volunteers helping out. Here Noah taping the flower he made (with Daddy's help) on the wall.

And finally, at the exit/entrance, a donut-shaped ping pong table so that many people can play at once.