Guide to Children’s Museum Singapore (CMSG): Children’s Season 2024 & Into The Hawkerverse

Children’s Museum Singapore (CMSG) invites all kiddos under 12 for an interactive learning experience with Children’s Season 2024, a special exhibition that lets you explore our hawker culture with food trails, kids’ cooking workshops and more!

Children’s Museum Singapore (CMSG) is the first museum dedicated to children 12 years and below. Built on the vision of creating a place of wonder and joyful learning for children to learn about Singapore and the world, Children’s Museum Singapore believes in the power of play and provides opportunities for little ones to explore and engage with Singapore and the world around them.

If you’re looking for a creative way to teach your kids about Singapore’s history, Children’s Museum Singapore is the answer. With engaging exhibitions and safe spaces for kids to roam, explore, and play, there is no better way to get your kids excited about history. Young toddlers can explore the Play Pod – a fun area for free play – while older kids can travel back in time to learn why our forefathers came to Singapore. Aside from its ongoing exhibitions, Children’s Museum Singapore has exciting special exhibitions throughout the year, including Children’s Season 2024 (25 May – 23 June 2024), which returns with plenty of exciting activities, from food trails, cooking workshops and more.

   Read more: Kid-friendly Museums & Art Exhibitions in Singapore

Children’s Museum Singapore (CMSG) – here’s what’s in store:

Children’s Museum Singapore Children’s Season 2024

Children’s Museum Singapore Children’s Season is an annual programme offering a delightful blend of cultural and educational experiences designed to ignite curiosity in little ones about Singapore’s rich heritage. This year’s theme, Innovation, sets the stage for an engaging lineup of programmes curated by Children’s Museum Singapore and its Museum Roundtable partners to nurture creative thinking amongst the kiddos. With an array of activities planned, there’s something for the entire family to enjoy, guaranteed to put your June holidays to good use! Among the highlights is the signature programme, Oodles of Noodles ($20 per child, with one free accompanying adult), where kids can explore Singapore’s vibrant hawker culture. Kiddos can join Izzy on a food trail through Armenian Street as she searches for innovative recipe ideas to amp up her Laksa dish and create their very own Oodles of Noodles craft at the end of their food adventure.

Don’t miss the free drop-in activity, “Let’s go on a Satay Adventure!”, a self-guided exploration where kids can craft their very own satay dish while delving into the fascinating history of Singapore’s hawkers. What’s extra interesting about the Children’s Season 2024 is that its signature programmes were also curated in conjunction with the newly-formed Children’s Panel – a group of children between the ages of 8-12! Continuing the spirit of ensuring that this year’s Children’s Season is for children, by children, the Children’s Panel will also get to experience running the festival with a ‘takeover’ session, where they handle the programme registration at selected museums.

When: Various dates between 25 May – 23 June 2024. Click here for the full list of programmes.
How much: Both free and ticketed programmes. Free programmes require general admission tickets to Children’s Museum Singapore. Purchase tickets here.

Children’s Museum Singapore exhibition: Into the Hawkerverse

As part of its Children’s Season 2024, Children’s Museum Singapore will also launch Into The Hawkerverse, a special exhibition spotlighting Singapore’s iconic hawker culture and how it became Singapore’s first inscription to the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020. The exhibition was curated with insights from children and shed light on this uniquely Singaporean heritage, what goes into creating these delicious, award-winning dishes and more. Taking over the museum’s second level, kids will be engaged across three galleries, including Play Pot, a dedicated playspace for the little ones under four. Here, there’s a masak-masak playspace where kids with hawker food Mee Goreng and more. Kids will dive into Singapore’s hawker journey through multisensory exploration and object-based learning in an interactive and educational experience.

When: From 25 May 2024, 10am – 6pm daily
How much: Free to all children of all nationalities and $10 per adult of all nationalities.

Level 1 at the Children’s Museum Singapore

A Voyage Back in Time 

Little ones can embark on a time-travelling voyage with Captain and WonderBot to explore how Singapore came to be. Unlike most museums, kids are free to touch anything and everything within their reach. From picking up the fruits and vegetables to climbing into the barber’s chair, nothing is out of bounds.

The Hidden Chamber, an immersive show on a projector screen, is where Captain will open his secret stash of treasure and share stories about the origins of each object.

A highlight for kids will be the mini boat, crocodile (don’t feed him!) and the ship where kids can crouch down into the berths or tuck themselves into a hammock in the cabins! Along this time-travelling journey, the kids will get to experience sailing through stormy weather and eventually disembark at the port of Singapore to unleash their exploratory instincts at Ahoy Singapore!

As you wander through the streets of old in Singapore at The Marketplace, your kids will get to explore the bustling shophouses, handle shop products, pump old-fashioned water pumps, learn about different spices, listen to stories of shopkeepers, and try heritage trades like acting as a street barber or traditional letter writer.

Little ones will be captivated by the colourful sights and busy sounds of the old Singapore streets.

The path will eventually lead you to the present day, where the kids can design their own stamps in the neighbourhood post office. They can even write a letter and deliver their message across the room through a message tunnel – watch their little faces light up with excitement as the message capsule zips through the tunnel!

Level 2 of the Children’s Museum Singapore (CMSG) – currently closed until 24 May 2024

Imagine A Garden 

This a-maze-ing exhibition is lined with beautiful paper sculptures featuring birds, flowers, and more by Colombian artist Diana Beltran Herrera. A multi-sensory exhibit, it allows kids to hear birds chirping, smell flowers, and even touch an ancient fossil! Learn about the different types of birds and flowers that are scattered across our sunny island and Southeast Asia. For those who love games, How Fast Can You Fly is a multimedia game where the kids can pretend to be spotted wood owls on the hunt for their favourite prey. By flapping their arms to help the owl fly, this interactive game perfectly combines a child’s love of games with physical activity.

Happy Birthday! 

In our multi-racial society, there are so many different ways to celebrate the same occasion. Here, kids (and adults) can learn about how different communities in Singapore celebrate birthdays, welcome a newborn, choose a gift, and more. Curious kids who are always playing around in the kitchen can learn how to prepare popular birthday dishes from each community, take a whiff of delicious birthday cakes, and learn about birth rituals in an interactive way.

Play Pod

If you have active toddlers, this is the place for you. The Play Pod is a safe space for children aged 2 to 4 to run around, crawl through tunnels, pick play-pretend produce, and explore the delicious treats that nature has to offer. They can even run their own food cart and “cook” meals for you.

Events at the Children’s Museum Singapore

Children’s Museum Singapore will have a lineup of educational and engaging workshops for families like art & craft activities, roving performances, and more. Be sure to check their website for an updated list of upcoming events that you can attend with your kids.

How to get to the Children’s Museum Singapore (CMSG)

By train: The Children’s Museum Singapore is an 8-minute walk from City Hall MRT Station.
By bus: Alight at any of these bus stops – Old Hill Street Police Station, Grand Park City Hall, Armenian Church, or After City Hall Station Exit B.
By car: Park at the Registry of Marriages (ROM), Peranakan Museum, Grand Park City Hall, Capitol Piazza, Peninsula Excelsior Hotel or Funan Mall.

Where to eat near the Children’s Museum Singapore

To protect the exhibits and keep the museum clean, food and drinks (except water) are not allowed in the Children’s Museum Singapore. However, Children’s Museum Singapore is only a 5-minute walk from shopping malls like Funan Mall, Peninsula Shopping Centre, and Capitol Singapore, where you will find a variety of delicious options for hungry little tummies.

How much are tickets to Children’s Museum Singapore?

Tickets for the Children’s Museum Singapore are free for Singaporeans and PRs (pink and blue NRIC only).
Admission fees apply for tourists and all other foreign residents (other coloured NRIC cards): $10 per child and $15 per adult.
Walk-ins are not recommended so, book your tickets to Children’s Museum Singapore online in advance to secure your spot!
As the Children’s Museum Singapore is a children’s museum you may only enter as an adult if you come with a child.
Book tickets here!

Read more: 101 Family-Friendly Activities in Singapore 

CMSG Sassy Mama Tips:

• Visits to the Children’s Museum Singapore are limited timeslots: 9am; 11am; 2pm; 4pm entry timings only.
• Bring water bottles. Water coolers are available at Level 1 for refills.
• There is one nursing room available on Level 1.

Children’s Museum Singapore (CMSG): All the Deets
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Sunday (closed on Monday), closed daily 12:45 – 2pm for cleaning. 
Where: Children’s Museum Singapore, 23-B Coleman Street, Singapore 179807, www.nhb.gov.sg/childrensmuseum

Want other SG spots where kids can learn and play? Keep scrolling for a few awesome ideas!