The best cheap things to do in Singapore with kids

Like most museums, Children's Museum Singapore aims to educate about Singapore's history. However, the museum was designed with children in mind and is filled with interactive exhibits to encourage hands-on learning and engage young minds. Special exhibits are also featured, including one that celebrates the unique ways that different cultural communities in Singapore mark birthdays. Entry is free from Singaporeans and permanent residents, and begins at $10 for foreign residents and tourists.

Price: Free for Singaporeans and permanent residents, from $10 for tourists and foreign residents

Children are sure to enjoy eating kueh as a snack – trust us, we’ve had one too many rainbow lapis as kids – so a trip to Kim Choo Kueh Chang is sure to be an exciting time for them. Participate in a private boutique tour where you can watch a demonstration of how the traditional sarong kebaya and beaded shoes are made while learning about Peranakan culture. You will also get to enjoy samples of various nyonya kueh during the session, and your little ones are sure to learn a lot because we all know the best way to learn about a culture is through its food!

Price: $12.50 per person

For photography buffs who wish for their kids to appreciate cameras as much as you do, the Vintage Cameras Museum is the place to go. The camera-shaped museum contains replicas of iconic cameras throughout the years, as well as rare collections of photographs. After going through the exhibits, put your newfound photography knowledge to use at the Click Art Museum next door! Each artwork is carefully designed and uses optical illusions to encourage visitors to play with camera angles and poses in order to take the most realistic-looking photograph. Kids are guaranteed to enjoy pretending to be devoured by a shark, or fighting an alligator at this one-of-a-kind museum.

Price: From $20

Reopening on December 16 2023.

After showing the kids around the other exhibits at National Gallery Singapore, let them continue exploring their creativity at the Keppel Centre for Art Education. The concept here is simple: to stimulate children’s curiosity and imagination through – what else – art. The centre is divided into several zones, including a museum and workshop. But the highlight is the newly-refreshed Art Playscape and Ink Studio where kids can learn about gestures, movement and spontaneity through the playful kinetic zones.

Price Free for Singaporeans and permanent residents, from $15 for a standard ticket

If your kids love visiting the S.E.A Aquarium, they are sure to enjoy The Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum, which currently holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest collection of turtles and tortoises. Wander through the museum and marvel at the Sulcata tortoise – the third largest tortoise in the world. Your kids can also pet and feed some of the animals, just make sure to be gentle when interacting with them.

Price: $10 per person

The Singapore Discovery Centre takes visitors on a hands-on journey through some of Singapore’s historical moments. This includes augmented reality games that depict the stress our civil servants went through during the 1983 Cable Car tragedy, as well as an activity where children can take on the role of a reporter and report on Singapore’s development over the years. With its recent revamp in 2020, families can now enjoy new attractions such as archery tag, paintball, and 4D simulation rides.

Price: From $8

Stroll along aerial walkways while viewing one of the world’s tallest indoor waterfalls in Cloud Dome. Admire the lush greenery and unique plants that don’t grow in soil, but rather rely on the support of other plants to thrive. Aspiring little botanists can also learn more about horticulture at the Flower Dome, which features plants from different climates and regions while readers of The Little Prince are sure to enjoy viewing the huge baobabs that grow within the greenhouse.

Price: Entry to both Cloud Dome and Flower Dome, $12 for kids, $20 for adults

Bring the whole family to gawk at the natural wonders housed in the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. Among them: a dinosaur fossil, a sperm whale skeleton, the only specimen of the largest species of turtle ever recorded, and an Asian Brown Flycatcher specimen collected by the famed British naturalist Alfred Wallace himself. The compact gallery has fifteen thematic zones, displaying specimens of plants, fungi, mammals, dinosaurs and more. When you're done with that, bring the kids to gardens surrounding the museums to discover plants native to mangroves, swamps and dryland forests. 

Price: From $9

For the kids who love animals, Gallop Stable allows you to interact with their lovely ponies and horses. Young kids can take a short pony ride around the stables for just $10, and feed the ponies and horses afterwards if they wish to do so. This laidback but fun activity is a great opportunity for parents and kids to bond in the calming presence of horses.

Price: From $10

Your little ones are sure to have a fun time riding SkyHelix Sentosa, an open-air gondola that ascends to a height of 79 metres above sea level. Take in the gorgeous views of Sentosa and the Keppel Bay area during the day, or admire the beautiful lights from up above at night. All tickets come with a choice of a non-alcoholic drink or an exclusive SkyHelix Sentosa souvenir for your kids to take home and remember the ride by.

Price: $17 for kids, $20 for adults

While Singapore is very much a tropical country, that doesn’t mean our kids are not able to experience snow. Snow City has been around since 2000, and continues to provide its visitors with a fun, wintry experience. Kids can whizz down a 60-metre-long snow slope, as well as cause multiple collisions – safely, of course! – and have a fun time doing so at the bumper car arena. Whether it’s engaging in intense snowball fights or simply lying back and making a snow angel, your kids are sure to have a delightful time in the snow.

Price: From $19

Jewel Changi Airport’s wonderland makes a great indoor playground for both kids and kidults. Burn your energy by going down all four Discovery Slides, play among the clouds of Foggy Bowls, and waltz through the colourful Petal Garden. Mark the magical moment with a family photo by the various animal topiaries like orangutans, crocodiles, elephants, peacocks and chameleons at the whimsical indoor jungle of Topiary Walk. For an added fee, you can also weave through various mazes, bounce on nets, and admire the stunning views of the HSBC Rain Vortex and Shiseido Forest Valley from above a glass bridge.

Price: From $6 for Singaporeans and permanent residents, from $8 for tourists and foreign residents

An institute built for the cultivation of everything scientific (yeah, science!), this kid-friendly institution features regular exhibitions that promote the physical, life, applied, technology, and industry sciences. The centre also lays claim to Singapore’s only domed cinema, the Omni-Theatre, which is equipped with state-of-the-art IMAX technology. It also has a 40-centimetre mega-telescope which gives little astronomers a closer view of the starry skies at the Science Centre Observatory (temporarily closed).

Price: From $8, $14 (Omni-Theatre)

An edutainment centre specifically for kids, this interactive space features various areas for them to run wild and dirty their hands. Galleries are divided into themed zones with exhibits that encourage kids to get creative, learn about Mother Nature, nurture their curiosity and open their minds to the wonders of the world. And as you'd probably guess by now, gravity's a big part of it. Enter The Big Dream Climber. This fantastical two-storey-high wall features elements plucked from the mind of the Mad Hatter: hanging doors, flying fish, giant gears and huge leaves. And if they manage to scale the wall, they'll arrive at the Music Zone, where they can go nuts on drums and organs, constructed from PVC pipes. Singaporeans and permanent residents can enjoy KidsStop for as low as $5 during off-peak hours, but a standard ticket starts at $20 during off-peak hours, and can go up to $23 during peak hours.

Price: From $5-$23

Live out your ultimate Wipeout dream at Singapore's very first floating aqua park. Both kids and kidults can climb, slide, leap and bounce at the massive inflatable playground and obstacle course – think a giant bouncy castle in the sea, just off Sentosa's Palawan Beach. To maximise the fun for everyone, the water park is split into four zones with varying difficulty levels – Level 1 is specially designed for kids aged five to eight (every one child has to be accompanied by one adult), and Levels 2, 3 and 4 are for those aged nine and above. Ticket prices start at $19 during off-peak hours, but increase to $22 during peak hours, so do take advantage of the lower prices by going on weekdays.

Price From $19-$22

For some fun under the sun, children can run riot to their heart’s content at this open-air playground by the sea. Located along Siloso Beach Walk, Nestopia has a total of 17 play sections fitted out with challenging obstacle courses complete with three giant nests that suspend 7.5-metres off the ground. Climb your way up for spectacle views of the South China Sea before sliding down one of its two slides with your tot.

Price: From $10

Timezone has a plethora of arcade games and attractions that are sure to keep your family entertained for hours on end. Get a Powercard (starting at$10) to play any ten games around the arcade, or get 30 minutes of Time Play ($20) and play to your heart’s content! Participate in friendly competition amongst family members through a variety of activities such as mini bowling and mini golf, and encourage teamwork with their laser tag missions.

Price: From $10