[Media Invite] Human Body Experience & Nature's Design Exhibition @ Singapore Science Centre

This is a monthly post on 'Educational Places'. Every 4th week of the month I will post on local educational places we have brought AJ to.

Jan - The Coins & Notes Museum
Feb - The NEWater Plant
Mar - Gardens By The Bay - The Cloud Forest
Apr - Gardens By The Bay - The Flower Dome
May - The Changi Museum


AJ went for Sound Explorer workshop organised by Singapore Science Centre on 6 June & had a whale of a time.  Incidentally, he came out of the workshop & told me he wanted to go & see Human Body Experience Exhibition, a temporary exhibition inside Science Centre which requires separate purchase of ticket.  Apparently, the facilitator had brought them around Science Centre so the children chanced into the exhibition.  We didn't have time to visit the exhibition so we gave it a miss.

Thankfully the kind folks in Science Centre & their lovely PR agency invited us to explore Human Body Experience (HBX) & Nature's Design Exhibition, so on 14 June we went.

Human Body Experience (HBX) Exhibition
As mentioned earlier, to visit this exhibition, a separate ticket would be needed but that includes entrance to Science Centre.

Human Body Experience (HBX)  is an edutainment exhibition that takes us inside the human anatomy through organs, muscles & systems, allowing us to interact & play with the amazing functions of the human body.  Combining strobe lighting, mist spray, confined spaces, unsteady surfaces, tactile sculptures, optical illusions, holograms, audio, 3D video & touch pads, we are able to get a unique multisensory experience.  Audio-visual narration will also engage us as we go through the exhibition.

Check out this youtube video on the making of this exhibition before you visit.  It is the best way to appreciate what you & your child(ren) are going to learn.

To start the journey, we 1st stepped into the mouth of a 6m tall “human face” & went through 5 main systems of the human body, namely the circulatory, digestive, immune, nervous & respiratory systems. 

As we went along, we got to feel the soft texture of the stomach lining, rush of air approaching the lungs, hear the heart beating over sonic sub speakers & experience what it felt like to be swallowed as we squeezed 

through the throat.

The journey starts from the mouth

Part of the lung

The veins area is lit with black light (UV light) to give models of alveoli & veins a unique glow.
Veins are intertwined to create a labyrinth for us to navigate through.

The hardworking pumping heart

Simulating how food is swallowed & then travel through the oesophagus, inflated fabric is lined inside a tunnel, through which we navigate from 1 end to the other.
Lighting effects provide another dimension to the experience.

Getting out of the intestine which is also the exit of the fun Human Body Experience

The Human Body Experience exhibition is really worth going, in my opinion.  Here are some tips for you before you start this internal adventure:

1) Wear long pants because you need to climb (literally)
2) Wear flat fitting covered shoes else you risk your shoes dropping off after you have passed through the 'tunnels'
3) Visit the washroom to wash your hands thoroughly after the HBX visitation because there are times you need to be on all 4 while inside.  :)

Exploring Nature's Design Exhibition
To promote understanding & appreciation of natural wonders, Science Centre Singapore (SCS) is giving nature enthusiasts an opportunity to delve deep at its new exhibition titled, Exploring Nature’s Design. This exhibition is designed to be educational &creative, to foster a sense of curiosity among nature lovers, & promote deep appreciation for the natural  world. The exhibition consists of Robot Zoo, Tinkering Space & Seed Carving. The exhibition is also part of this year’s upcoming Singapore Science Festival.

Robot Zoo
Biggest of the 3 sections (7,000 sqft), Robot Zoo explores the ingenuity of nature as a master engineer using robotics. 8 giant, mechanical animals are on display to mirror & simulate the biological makeup of their real-life counterparts.  Muscles become pistons, intestines transform into filtering pipes & brains into computers, demonstrating how animals function in their natural environment. Animals on display at the exhibit include a chameleon,  a rhinoceros, a grasshopper & a giraffe among others.

A hands-on experience to feel how a housefly moves

Try to see if you can shoot as accurate as a Chameleon's tongue

A fun way to challenge yourself to see if you can out-run a cheetah.
I can assure you, even an athlete could be a problem.

Click link here if you have problem viewing the embedded video.

Tinkering Space
This exhibit is a demonstration in self-assembled electronics, a variety of paper-based & other crafts, & robotics. AJ got the chance to tinker with easily available household materials to show off his creativity by making DIY luminescent giraffe.  Other DIY items include rhinos, microscopes, LED charm bracelets among others.

Seed Carving
The science of seed carving has been in practice in China for many centuries turning useless seeds into valuable works of art of all shape & size.  The Seed Carving exhibit gives us a detailed journey, from the stages of carving to the types of seeds used, as well as, the stories & anecdotes behind the carvings on display.

Exploring Nature's Design exhibition is suitable for children who are interested in Robots or upper Primary kids.  No separate purchase of tickets is required.  There are many activities lining up for your children in the annual Singapore Science Festival which will start on 18 July.  You may also want to 'like' Singapore Science Festival on Facebook to get updated feed.