SINGAPORE – The June school holidays provide a much-needed respite for your kids – and you – from academic routines. Make the most of the month-long break to bond with your family at new attractions and activities.

But what if you are preoccupied with work? Enrol them in drop-off programmes that combine fun with learning.

Here are six ideas that will bring out the smiles in pre-schoolers, primary-school kids and teenagers.

1. Head to a new water park

Get ready to go on Singapore’s longest indoor waterslide for two people on an inflatable float. The 114m-long Double Trouble Aqua Tube takes them on twists and turns before making a splash landing.

If your kids are at least 30kg and 1.25m tall, they will be thrilled to play at HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir clubhouse’s soon-to-be-opened Aqua Adventure centre. The launch date has not been confirmed, but is expected to be during the June school holidays.

For an adrenaline rush, take the plunge down the 85m-long Blackhole Aqua Tube, which will have you barrelling out the other end in 15 seconds.

Then relax in a 1.2m-deep pool that offers a vantage point of almost all the play installations in Aqua Adventure.

But this is not just a water park with typical slides. It features a rope course with eight obstacles that require participants – wearing a safety harness – to walk across narrow beams or hanging steps, while getting splashed from water buckets.

The three-storey centre also has two dry-play zones. At Scramble Net, you have to crawl through netted tunnels and swing from bars. And at Clockwork Towers, you will find a five-lane climbing wall.

Admission rates start at $40 each for HomeTeamNS members and $60 for the public. Enjoy discounts when you buy in sets of two or five tickets.

Kids below 13 years old must be accompanied by adults even if they meet the minimum weight and height requirements.

Find out more at str.sg/iJRm and follow HomeTeamNS’ social media for updates on the opening date.

2. Play in nature

A larger-than-life butterfly, a kingfisher, poison dart frogs and elephant ear figs will likely keep your kids entertained at Gardens by the Bay’s ninth annual Children’s Festival, which runs from June 10 to 25.

These form a nature-themed playground in which the young ones can climb, crawl and discover fun facts about the flora and fauna inspiring the installations. 

You can read the information panels with your kids to understand how each contributes to the ecosystem. Or hop on a 10m-long caterpillar train for a guided learning journey as it makes its way around the verdant surroundings.

Tip: Get the entire family to wear pants so you can enter at the Supertree Grove via a 20m-long fun slide, which has replaced a flight of steps during this period.

Admission is free, but fees apply for selected craft activities and all game stalls. You need tickets for the train ride, which costs $10 a child, $12 an adult and $20 for an adult-child bundle. 

Find out more at str.sg/iJRe

3. Staycay in an iconic garden

If you are looking to give your kids a memorable staycation, make a booking at Garden Pod in Gardens by the Bay. 

Its unconventional facade will wow them. The retreat is made up of four duplex suites, with the upper levels constructed from 12.2m-long repurposed shipping containers. 

As the suites are arranged in a pinwheel layout, each offers a different view of the lush garden and the nearby Marina Bay Sands. 

Inside each 70 sq m suite, a spiral staircase connects the two levels. Up to five people can sleep here comfortably as there is a king-size bed, a queen-size Murphy bed that can be swung into a cabinet when not in use, and a sofa bed that sleeps one.

You can prepare meals for the family at the kitchenette, which has a cooking hob. Otherwise, take a seven-minute stroll to the Supertree Grove where you can find a dinosaur-themed Jurassic Nest Food Hall and tuck into its variety of Michelin-rated fare.  

The suite, run by Tiny Pod, provides a good setting to teach your children about science and sustainability.

Tell them that up to 80 per cent of the suite’s electricity needs are converted from sunlight, thanks to the photovoltaic solar-energy panels installed on the rooftop. 

Also, the hotel’s structure allows for it to be relocated anywhere, so it will not be always at this venue.

At last check, the suites are still available for booking on selected dates during the June school break. Rates are from $400 to $700 a night before taxes. Find out more at tinypod.com

4. Go museum-hopping

Join comic art workshops led by local artists and arts educators at 10 participating museums and galleries, including Asian Civilisations Museum, Children’s Museum Singapore and Indian Heritage Centre.

All 30 sessions, which cost $20 a child, will feature a theme inspired by each venue. For example, at The Peranakan Museum, kids aged six to 12 can learn about Peranakan culture and reinvent a classic fairy tale in comics – what if Cinderella were Nonya – with cartoonist Colin Goh on June 3.

These workshops are part of the annual Children’s Season by the National Heritage Board and the Museum Roundtable.

Returning from May 27 to June 25, its latest edition invites kids to explore occupations and inventions in past and present Singapore, in line with its theme Hopes and Dreams.

Admissions to the participating museums are free for Singaporeans and permanent residents, but fees apply to most programmes.

As your family visits the museums during the June school holidays, remember to get a stamp imprint from every venue. Collect enough in their Children’s Season “passports” and your kids can redeem gifts.

For programme details, go to go.gov.sg/nhbcs2023

5. Explore hiking trails

Your little ones are going for hikes in Windsor Nature Park and Lower Peirce Reservoir Park without you, but do not worry.

They will be under the watchful eye of instructors, who aim to inspire them to appreciate nature and will teach them the dos and don’ts when encountering wildlife.

Recommended for kids from four to seven years old, the Young Hikers programme runs from 9am to 3pm over three days and costs $356.40 a child.

Meanwhile, older children aged nine to 11 can join the Nightfall Explorers, an overnight programme which takes them on a walk to discover nocturnal creatures.

They will also learn about budgeting and how to plan their meals during this retreat at Aranda Country Club in Pasir Ris. The fee is $464.40 a child.

These are two of the new classes at Outdoor School Singapore, set up in 2019 by NTUC First Campus. Each has multiple sessions in June.

Find out more and check out other programmes at outdoorschool.sg/programmes

6. Learn new sports

Singaporeans and permanent residents aged four to 12 would have received a top-up of $100 credits in their ActiveSG accounts on May 1.

Use the credits to offset the fees of school holiday programmes offered by ActiveSG Academies and Clubs, and introduce your kids to new sports. The wide-ranging options include athletics, canoeing, hockey, football, tennis and volleyball.

Classes are held at locations islandwide, with multiple sessions and varying fees. Go to www.go.gov.sg/anc for the programme listing.

Since 2014, a one-off $100 ActiveSG credit has been given to all Singapore citizens and permanent residents when they sign up for Sport Singapore’s ActiveSG movement.

If your kids are not members yet, sign up at myactivesg.com or via the ActiveSG app by Oct 31 to get a total of $200 in credits.