Kids' Day Out: Singapore Biennale Treasure Hunt For White Rabbits

Kids’ Day Out: Singapore Biennale Treasure Hunt for White Rabbits

Photo: Treasure hunt clues may be found in South Beach Development exhibits like this one on Kids Day Out.

Parents may be wary of bringing young children to the Singapore Biennale 2008, the nation’s largest contemporary visual art exhibition. With a wide range of provocative art works by renowned visual artists from all over the world on show, parents may rightly believe that the Singapore Biennale’s art pieces are too esoteric or abstract for children to appreciate.

To handle this concern, the Singapore Biennale has rolled out a Kids’ Day Out programme just for these parents and their children. This excellent opportunity will offer families with kids to appreciate new art forms, enjoy fun games and learn about the trendiest global talents in the field of visual art. Hopefully at the end of this Kids' Day Out programme, parents' misconceptions about the Singapore Biennale may be corrected.

On 4 October 2008 from 11am to 4pm, a family-friendly Treasure Hunt for white rabbits with a host of Kids’ Day Out activities have been planned at South Beach Development, one of three venues for the Singapore Biennale 2008.

Kids get free entry on Kids’ Day Out into the Singapore Biennale exhibition site while the $10 admission fees apply for accompanying adults. There will be free lessons on windmill making and balloon sculpting for all kids. Popcorn, candy floss and Anderson’s ice-cream will be handled out free to kids only on Kids’ Day Out.

In the Singapore Biennale treasure hunt for white rabbits, happy families on a day out with their kids will explore the buildings and spaces at South Beach Development looking for clues to solve an on-the-spot puzzle game.

Once done, drop your answer sheets into the ballot box, leave the Kids Day Out programme and unwind at home or proceed to the other two venues of the Singapore Biennale. Winners of the treasure hunt will be drawn from correctly answered entries and announced later on the Singapore Biennale website.

For a special Kids Day Out for parents and their children, this Singapore Biennale event is certainly worth considering.

See more places. Live more life.

Read more:
1. Singapore Biennale Kids’ Day Out Treasure Hunt
2. South Beach Development

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South Beach Development

South Beach Development

South Beach Development is one of the venues for the Singapore Biennale 2008, scheduled from 11 September 2008 to 16 November 2008. This Singapore Biennale presented an opportunity for me to visit and write about the South Beach Development located along Beach Road.

photograph: South Beach Development

The History
According to the Singapore Biennale website, South Beach Development (previously known as Beach Road Camp) comprises the Former Beach Road Camp, the NCO Club Building and the Former Beach Road Police Station building. The Singapore Volunteers Corps (SVC) was a big part of its history where the first NS enlistment was held in 1967.

Three Art Deco Style blocks built in the 1930s and a NCO Club building built in 1953-53, which is a hybrid of Art Deco and the Modern Style, are present within the compound. In February 2000, Beach Road Camp on this site was closed. It was conserved on 9 October 2002.

South Beach Development is scheduled to reopen by 2012 as the revolutionary New Eco-Quarter in Singapore. It will feature two striking towers of up to 45 storeys, including the four revitalised historic buildings and will house premium office space, two luxury hotels, exquisite retail space and exclusive city residences. City Developments Limited and its partners Istithmar (part of the Dubai World Group) and US-based Elad Group are currently working on this project known as South Beach.

My Visit
From the multi-storey carpark of Shaw Towers, a bird’s-eyed view of South Beach Development can be captured on camera across Middle Road. As you approach the South Beach entrance, the perimeter fence gives way to a small swing gate. A three-storey South Beach building stands before you with a label of the previous occupants clearly visible on its whitewashed facade.

Photograph: Corridor in building of South Beach Development

Inside one of the South Beach building along a dim window-less corridor lit with tungsten, there is an eerie sense of being lost in time. Like in an Alfred Hitchcock horror movie, one could literally expect to see a shadow jump out of a door waving a threatening knife in a moment of madness. The hair on my skin would curl and crawl up both arms to reach the neck in such morbid anticipation. I have not heard any ghost stories surrounding this South Beach Development. If any such ghost stories should appear, genuine disbelief will not be one of my reactions.

Photograph: Old Kitchen inside South Beach Development

This collection of historical buildings in South Beach Development shows its age well. In contrast to the spick and span of modern-day skyscrapers nearby, old-world charm oozes from every crack and pore of this South Beach Development. Such authentic preservation of the past at South Beach is a great reminder of our historical roots.


Source: Singapore Biennale 2008 website

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