The Best (Free!) Kid-Friendly Activities to Check Out at Singapore Design Week

SDW is more than just design shows and talks, mama! Check out the fun and (mostly) free kid-friendly attractions from 4-17 March!

Heard the buzz around Singapore Design Week, mama? While it’s set to feature several new collaborations to excite industry partners and designers all over SG, there’s actually much to do for kids! From 4 – 17 March 2019, there will be a showcase of incredible local and international design activities, with events like the Street of Clans, Singapore Urban Design Festival, Urban Interventions evening light installations and even the 9 Lives Art & Design Exhibition, which will get cat lovers excited!

Click through our gallery to check out the most kid-friendly events at Singapore Design Week!

Street of Clans is a vibrant creative festival that brings together Bukit Pasoh Road’s colourful history and Singapore’s creative communities. Expect a kaleidoscopic explosion of things to do, see, and play with — from artist takeovers and intimate conversations to fashion and design and music and more. Hop over to rave-worthy cafes like Casa Poncho and Humpback, and score a personalised illustration from Band of Doodlers, or sit along the street to bop to beats by Zouk!

For kids, there will be a fun lantern-making workshop by Lighting Planners Association, heritage trails, boat painting and interactive installations by Binary Style, SCENE SHANG, Pixie Tan and To The Power Of, and more! Click here for the full schedule.

Sea the Light Lantern-making Workshop
When: Friday, 8 March, 6pm to 9pm
Where: The alley joining Bukit Pasoh Road and Duxton Plain Park
How much: Free! Register here!

Let the Good Times Roll
Get the ball rolling at this interactive installation, which invites visitors to participate by using balls to complete tiny quests that activate audio and kinetic elements.
When: Friday – Sunday, 8 – 10 March
Where: Singapore Koh Clan Association, 15 Bukit Pasoh Road Singapore 089829
How much: Free!

Boat Painting Community Art
Grab a paintbrush and let your imagination run loose! Let the kids mix colours, paint outside the lines, and hone their inner Picassos by adding their mark to the uncoloured BetaBeta boats.
When: 8 March, 5 – 8pm; 9 and 10 March from 11am – 1pm and 2.30 – 4.30pm.
Where: Along Bukit Pasoh Rd
How much: Free!

Heritage Trail Around Bukit Pasoh, by Grassroots Bookroom
While giving your kids a fun introduction into Singapore’s history, there’s also a hands-on opportunity for them to design their very own shophouses using custom hand-carved rubber stamps during a crafting session at Grassroots Bookroom at the end of the walk!
When: Saturday, 9 March, 5pm – 6.30pm
How much: $20/kid (includes an adult chaperone). Call Grassroots Bookroom at (+65) 6337 9208 to secure a spot!

Capture Treasured Memories Journaling Workshop
Hosted by journaling maestro, Chen Pooi Chin, learn the basics of starting a journal, and the different tips and tricks to decorating your journal to make a beautiful keepsake. This workshop is best suited for kids ages 12 and up.
When: Saturday, 9 March, 2pm – 4pm
Where: Chin Kang Huay Kuan, 27 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089841
How much: $20. Get tickets here!

Want a fun introduction to robotics and coding? Join OneMaker Group’s Open Unstructured Play workshop! Discover new technologies and enjoy creative and educational play as you experience rapid prototyping tools such as the 3D Gello Pen and Polymorph, and learn about robotics and coding through Strawbotics and Glicode™. The Open Unstructured Play programme is a maker playground where participants will be allowed free-play on all of the above activities during the stipulated time frame, with facilitators. Suitable for kids age 5 and up, and great for parents to join in, too!

When: Monday – Saturday, 4 – 16 March 2019, 10am – 5pm
Where: Makerspace@NDC, National Design Centre (Level 1)
How much: $20 for 1 hour. Walk-in registration.

The Maze Wall is an interactive installation that features a series of mazes. Designed and built in the Makerspace@NDC, the Maze Wall turns an empty space into a fun, tactile experience you can try out while checking out the National Design Centre!

When: 4 March 2019 – 4 March 2020, Monday – Wednesday, 9am – 9pm
Where: National Design Centre, Level 1 Lift Lobby
How much: Free!

Let the next generation design their own future! HASSELL is throwing their studio doors open and inviting kiddos and their families to join their team of HASSELL architects, interior designers and urban specialists. In the safe open house setting of the HASSELL studio, kids can playfully explore the world of design together with building blocks, draw tools and craft models to imagine what our future world could look like! Children will be engaged in fun and safe activities while working side-by-side with HASSELL designers. Small design tokens and goodie bags will be provided. All ages are welcome. Having fun is mandatory.

When: Saturday, 16 March 2019, 10am – 1pm
Where: 33 Tras Street #02-01, Singapore 078973
How much: Free!

Urban Interventions consists of three design intervention installations located along Queen Street and at the National Design Centre. Transforming and enlivening the street, you can interact with these Instagram-worthy installations, from musical Tree Harps to an interactive Light Playground, eye-catching light canopies and more!

When: Monday – Saturday, 4 March – 31 August 2019
Where: National Design Centre and various locations along Queen Street
How much: Free!

Any friends of felines here? 9 Lives Art & Design Exhibition is the first ever design show for cats in Singapore, celebrating cats with unique installations! The nine featured artists and designers will take you through their creative journeys with their unique art and design pieces, which aim to solve problems and to invoke conversations on animal empathy and welfare to the unaware community. Meow!

When: Friday – Sunday, 15 – 17 March 2019, 11am – 7pm
Where: 51 Waterloo Street #02-01, Singapore 187969
How much: Free!