The Science Centre Singapore was built in 1977 on the western part of Singapore. The massive building complex spanning 650,000 square feet houses several attractions that are ticketed together or separately with visits to the centre such as the Omni Theatre, Snow City, and KidsStop.
I remember coming here as a kid with my family and on a school field trip when I was in primary school. Thus, coming back here when I am in my mid-20s was a walk down memory lane. There are certainly some attractions that had remained since the early 2000s, in particular the main atrium of the complex and the kinetic garden installation outside of the centre.
What Prompted Me To Re-Visit The Centre
In the next few weeks or months depending on when I get my visa settled, I will be moving on to my next phase in life, pursuing an overseas Master's programme on a scholarship for the next two years. Before I do so, however, I thought it would be prudent for me to re-visit some fond Singapore memories. Furthermore, I was also finding an excuse to spend my Singapore Re-Discover voucher that would expire on 31st December 2021 which I have not touched yet.
I searched Klook and Trip.com for activities and attractions where I can use my vouchers and a couple attractions caught my interest. First-and-foremost, a trip to RWS Universal Studios. It has been about three years since I went there and seeing the offers on these sites certainly warranted my attention. I will be making a trip there soon, and perhaps I will be writing a blogpost about my trip there as well. The second attraction that took my attention was the Science Centre Singapore bundle.
The offer on the Klook app was tempting. There were several bundles I can choose from: a 3 hour visit+Da Vinci exhibition, 3 hour visit+Omni Theatre, 6-hour visit+Da Vinci+Omni Theatre, KidsStop, and several others. Being the insufferable planner that I was, I looked at the reviews from past users and planned a trip where I can reap the most benefit from my visit there. Eventually, I chose the 3-hour visit+Omni Theatre experience.
Science Centre Singapore
I booked my visit two weeks before the actual trip on the Klook app and followed the easy steps to use my Singapore Re-Discover vouchers. As the voucher came in $10 denominations, I used an even $20 out of my $100 balance. I also booked a reservation for the Omni Theatre show which was a requirement due to the covid-19 situation. On the 1st October 2021, on a Friday, I left my home at 10am and made my way to the centre. As I stayed in the east and will be taking the public transport, I had to set aside two hours for my journey there and two hours back. I reached Jurong East MRT station at around 11.30am. From Jurong East MRT station, the Science Centre is only a 10 minutes walk away. I just had to walk towards JCube, and then walk past the national library, cross an overhead bridge, turn right, walk a short distance forward, and then cross a road to reach the centre.
I did not know where the main entrance was but as I entered the vicinity, I found myself inside the Kinetic Gardens. Instantly, a wave of nostalgia hit me. The Kinetic Gardens still had most of the attractions that was here 10 years ago! The same kinetic structure displays were there, and I remember the times I had ran around the garden with my young school mates trying each one of the interactive displays. I think we had been waiting for the school bus to take us back to school. Anyway, I walked down a flight of stairs and found the main entrance.
A friendly staff directed me to the direction of the Omni-Theatre. The Omni Theatre is located on an adjacent yellow building, a short minutes walk away from the main complex. While walking, I passed a telescope shop and the KidsStop attraction. KidsStop is a new attraction that was not here 10 years ago. The attraction is meant for children, thus I had no intention of purchasing a separate ticket to explore the attraction. However, from the outside, it definitely looked fun and interesting, something like a big wonderland of activities and I am pretty sure if I am a kid I would enjoy myself. The Omni-Theatre is located just to the left of the KidsStop attraction.
At the entrance, a door stood in my way into the theatre. The door is locked but a sign on the door states that if I had enquiries I could call for help. My show was at 12pm and I had arrived at 11.45am. There was a father and son pair already waiting outside the door. I waited for a short while and at around 11.50am, a staff opened the door to allow us in. I scanned the voucher on my Klook app, and the staff checked my reservation. After confirmation, I was shown the way into the Omni Theatre.
Omni Theatre
The Omni Theatre is a massive cinema of sorts. Documentary movies are showcased and cast upon the massive hemispheric screen on the inner side of the theatre, creating a jaw-dropping movie experience. 'Dinosaurs of Antarctica', a 40 minute documentary about the ecology of Antarctica from the Permian era more than 260 million years ago to present day was playing. As I had booked my tickets on a weekday, I had expected very few people and true to my expectation, there were only six other people in the theatre for the show. As it was a free seating, I had the luxury to choose whatever seat I wanted and I chose a seat nearer to the top, right in the middle. To be honest, the best seats would have to be nearer the middle as the screen does not extend 360 degrees but rather cuts off somewhere around the top. Still, the view was great and the story and visuals amazed me.
I am a sucker for interesting facts and history, so the documentary was very entertaining for me. Did you know that there was a massive extinction event before the dinosaur era, between the Permian and Triassic period, that killed about 96% of lifeforms on Earth? Did you know that one of the remaining creatures that survived was a species called the lystrosaurus, also commonly called the 'shovel lizard'? In a later blogpost or YouTube video, I am sure I will be making content about this era as this certainly fascinated me.
The show ended promptly at 12.40pm. After the show, I headed out for lunch. As I had a good 1 hour and 20 minutes before being allowed into the Science Centre for the 3 hour visit, I went back to Jem for my lunch. There were actually several food places in the centre itself, but for the variety that were available around the MRT station, I head there instead.
Science Centre
The reason I had chosen my ticket bundle was because of the timing issue. From the reviews, people did not have enough time to complete the entire Science Centre within the 3 hour period. The Da Vinci exhibit is within the Science Centre and as such, one has to visit the exhibit within the 3 hour period. Thus, I felt that if I had chosen the Da Vinci ticket bundle, I would not have enough time to see all that Science Centre has to offer. The great thing about the OmniTheatre bundle is that the theatre show can be viewed before the 3-hour Science Centre visit.
After my lunch, I walked back to the Science Centre and arrived at exactly 2pm. There were about ten or so people just entering the centre. I flashed my Klook voucher and was allowed into the centre. Instantly, I was bedazzled by the sheer number of interactive displays.
Here's the thing about the Science Centre. It is a place to learn science that is fun, and that entails the displays and exhibits to be interactive. Hence, every small display has some form of interactive input and that, I believe, is why 3 hours may not be sufficient to cover all the displays. My first instinct was to try the displays near the entrance which was themed around optical illusions. I spent a good ten minutes or so, before I realise I need to head in to get a better understanding of how much time I would actually need.
The Science Centre's layout centres around the atrium which is shaped like a cube. At each side of the cube is an entrance to one or several themed exhibit. Among the themed exhibits are 'Phobia2: The Science of Fear', 'Earth Alive' and 'Poo'. Each exhibit contains numerous interactive displays related to the theme that hopefully helps to inform visitors more about the theme. The wide variety of displays range from a simple smoke ring machine where one presses on a large circular ring to produce a circular fog that rises to the ceiling, to an earthquake simulator where one stands on a platform that shakes according to the strength of the earthquake on show.
There are some displays that would definitely take more time than others, especially those that involve playing a game on a digital screen. If I were to be asked for a preference on the themed exhibit, I would recommend the 'Phobia2: The Science of Fear' exhibit. From the outside, the exhibit seemed like a haunted house but rest assured the entire centre is kid-friendly, so do not expect it to be like a Halloween Horror Nights kind of attraction. Rather, the displays takes you on a journey to explain why fear exists. The props used are amazing, and so are the interactiveness of the displays! I shall not divulge too much about the exhibit less I spoil your experience. I have to say that it was a fun experience, and I certainly learned a lot about why people come to fear certain things and how to get rid of such fears. Unfortunately, due to covid-19 restrictions, a couple of displays were closed as they do not promote safe-distancing. Among the displays that were closed was a roller coaster ride within the Phobia2 exhibit.
Another exhibit that was pretty interesting was 'Professor Crackitt's Light Fantastic Mirror Maze'. It is a giant mirror maze where upon stumbling through the maze, you will find displays within the maze that teaches you about the properties of light and mirrors. At the beginning of the maze, a staff handed out a styrofoam prodding stick for one to use to navigate the maze. I actually got lost in the maze and had to retrace my steps several times and ended up spending a good 15 minutes in the maze. But, it was a good experience and would certainly recommend you trying the exhibit at least once!
Another exhibit I would recommend is the 'E3' exhibit. Unfortunately, the main attraction in the 'E3' exhibit, some machines and a theatre, were closed due to covid. The flying machine was available, however. The machine is manned by two staff who gives you an instruction on how to use the machine. When you use the machine, you put on a VR headset and then lie belly-first on a machine. The staff then helps you to strap your hands and legs. Instantly, you will be immersed into a flying environment, scaling the skies of a virtual city. There are wind machines that helps to simulate the flying experience better, so it really does feel like you are gliding through the skies. I am sure nobody wants to miss this display!
After going through each of the exhibit on the first floor, you should also not miss out on the exhibits on the second floor. On the second floor, there are still a few more exhibits, including the 'Future Makers' exhibit and 'Dialogue With Time' exhibit which was pretty interesting as well. And after you are done with the second floor, there is also a workshop located inside the 'E3' exhibit that you can participate in. In this workshop, called 'The Tinkering Studio', staff will give you material to make something interesting to take home! When I was there, the workshop was on how to create a card that lights up using a simple electric circuit that is made from a small battery and conducting copper strips. The staff were friendly and at the end of the day, I was glad to be able to bring home a cool card to use as a gift!
I did not interact with all the displays during my time at the Science Centre, but it was not for the lack of time, but more of choice for I gravitate towards the displays that seemed interesting to me. Nevertheless, once I am satisfied with the displays that I have played around with, it seems that I have utilised 2hours and 50 minutes, leaving me with only 10 minutes remaining from my 3 hour slot. As such, I am pretty sure if I had bought the package with the Da Vinci exhibit, I would not have time to explore to my hearts content, the displays that I wanted to try and will then have to book for another day. I am also pretty sure if one were to come with kids who may want to try and spend more time on each of the displays, it would take a lot more time and hence one cannot complete viewing the entire exhibits. And, if the covid restrictions were elevated and all the displays were open, then there certainly would not be enough time to cover all the displays. Considering this, please do consider having a time management plan before going to the Science Centre to get the best experience!
As I left the Science Centre, I made my way into the Science Centre's gift shop, The Curiosity Shop. Included in my ticket bundle was a $5 voucher for every $10 spent, not including food and beverages. It dawned to me that the prices there were a little pricey and may not be worth the $5 discount as compared to elsewhere, but I suppose they would make for very good souvenirs. As such, I did not utilise my voucher, and thus made my way out amid the announcement that the Science Centre was closing.
I left, a happy and , hopefully, more knowledgeable customer in this hugely underrated and satisfying attraction.
