[Lifestyle Review] Circus! Science Under the Big Top

Thanks to Science Centre Singapore and MediaCorp VizPro International Pte Ltd, my two boys and I had the chance to visit Circus! Science Under the Big Top.

This is part of Science Centre Singapore largest series of year- end blockbuster exhibitions to celebrate 40 years of inspiring science. Themed around the timeless topic with a broad appeal, Circus! Science Under the Big Top kick-starts the showcase and invites visitors to get a closer look at some of the most mind-boggling and death-defying circus acts. Visitors can satisfy their curiosity and immerse themselves in the science behind some of the iconic circus performances. The exhibition will run from 28 October 2017 to 18 March 2018.

Organised by Science Centre Singapore and Mediacorp VizPro International, Circus! Science Under the Big Top is a travelling exhibition originally from the Ontario Science Centre. It first opened in Toronto, Canada in 2001 and has undergone timely enhancements as it travelled across the world wowing over 600,000 visitors, including the UK and the US. The exhibition also celebrates the heritage of modern circus, specifically how it all started with Englishman Philip Astley who created a ring to bring together different performing acts back in 1768, nearly 250 years ago.

The Singapore edition features around 20 interactive exhibits. Visitors can experience how it feels to balance on a three metre High Wire or securing themselves to the harness in Elastic Acrobatics and perform aerial tricks like a trapeze artist to trying their hand at juggling. Explore the art of packanatomicalization (getting into small spaces) and find out if you have what it takes to fold yourself into a small box as the contortionists. Discover how science is at the heart of every circus act.

Additional activities have been planned to augment the science learning through activities such as magic performances on every Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm from 28 October to 31 December, as well as a special magic workshop for children on 18 November where participants will learn the techniques behind time-tested magic tricks such as “Vanishing Tissue” and “I Know Your Number”.

Science Centre Singapore will also launch three other exhibitions, as part of its #unFOURgettable40 celebrations this year. The other three exhibitions are Phobia2 (28 October), Dialogue with Time – Embrace Ageing (10 November), and Above and Beyond (25 November). Together, the four exhibitions invite visitors to explore and understand the science behind intriguing phenomena in our lives that can be dissected and explained by scientific theories. More details about the exhibitions can be found at www.science.edu.sg or on the Science Centre Singapore’s Facebook page.

Admission to Circus! Science Under The Big Top is priced at $15 per child and $18 per adult. Promotional bundles are available at $52 for a family of four (2 adults and 2 child).

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[Food Review] 11-Course Dim Sum Menu at Tien Court on 3 May 2017

Nothing more satisfying than to have a meal with your loved ones so here we were at Tien Court located at the 2nd floor of Copthorne King's Hotel to try out a 11-course dim sum menu specially curated by Tien Court.  This was also meant as an early Mother's Day celebration for me and my mum.

Tien Court reserved a private room for us so that we could enjoy the food in a quiet and private environment.

The private room was super huge and the boys were so excited about having such a big space to 'play' that they started running all over the place till I had to tell them sternly to sit down... hahaha!

Tien Court has a few private rooms so if you want to do a celebration but away from the crowd in the common hall, it would be a better idea to go for the private room instead.

The room was super comfortable with warm lightings and proper cutlery specially arranged on the table before we came.

Let's take a look at the specially curated menu... dim sum, one of my favourite type of food in this world!

Continue reading as I revealed the glorious photos of all the food that were served...

MENU

Steamed Prawn Dumpling with Crab Meat and "Dou Miao"

The colour itself was already very intriguing and after I took a bite, I was amazed that I could taste the freshness of the crab meat without the overwhelming "dou miao' vegetable taste.  It was a well balanced execution by the chef.

Steamed Dumpling with Wild Mushrooms

Very crunchy texture in comparison with the soft skin.  I love the fact that the translucency of the skin allowed you to see the mixture of mushrooms inside the dumplings.

Steamed Barbecued Pork Bun

 Do not be deceived by the simple appearance of the bun cos it was so soft on the outside, yet so juicy on the inside.  I love this type of bun where it opens up instead of the close version.  My advice is to eat this when it is still piping hot so that you can taste the soft juicy combination.

Steamed Malay Cake

Another simple dish but again, I was impressed by that slight buttery fragrance which accompanied every bite.  It was light and fluffy as well.

Steamed Rice Roll Stuffed with Prawn

Crunchy prawns were stuffed inside to provide a wonderful contrast to the soft texture of the rice roll.  The sauce was just nicely salted to provide a balance to the overall taste.

Deep-fried Spring Roll with Golden Garden Garlic

 At first i thought, 'What was so specially about a spring roll?'  But when I took my first bite, I was won over by the crunch of the skin, without it being too oily.  Initially both me and my mum thought that vegetables were wrapped inside but to our surprise, there were prawns inside instead.  Best part was that the prawns were not minced so that we can taste the freshness of the whole prawns.

Deep-fried Duck Meat Dumpling with Yam Paste

As a Teochew, this dish was one of my favorite.  The duck meat was soft and the net like wrapping was crispy.

Deep-fried Savoury Dumpling with Chicken Meat

Aesthetically, this dish definitely won hands down and garnered many gasps around the table.  Just look at those cuties... I didn't bear to eat them.

Steamed Shark's Fun Dumpling with Winter Melon in Superior Broth

My favourite dish... it was so sweet with the natural flavoring from all the ingredients.  I liked the fact that the soup was served over a warmer, so that while we were drinking the soup, it was kept warm by the tea light.

Wok-fried Fine Rice Vermicelli with Stewed Pig's Trotter

By the time this dish was served, we were all very full but I still tried this dish and was impressed by the 'wok hei' taste.  Also, the restaurant used freshly stewed pig's trotter instead of those from cans, hence the meat was soft and tender.

Chilled Cream of Mango with Pomelo and Sago

As a dessert lover, I would definitely leave space in my stomach for this traditional evergreen dessert.  Well, it didn't fail me... I loved the sweet yet tangy flavour due to the combination of the ingredients.

My parents were heaping praises for the food served and both were so full at the end of the 11 course menu.  See my dad even showed a thumb-up for the food!

If you like to celebrate Mother's Day at Tien Court, they have options like Mother's Day Lunch and Mother's Day 7-Course Set Dinner for you to choose from.

For enquiries and reservations, please call +6318 3193/198 or email tiencourt@millenniumhotels.com.

Thanks again to Tien Court and Copthorne King's Hotel for the wonderful hosting so that our family could enjoy an awesome Mother's Day celebration!

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Tien Court

Thinkasaur Delivers Fun-filled Science Experiments Direct-to-door

Great thing comes in small package and this time round, they came in cute packaging as well.  I was so excited to receive the boxes of Thinkasaur a few weeks back on behalf of my two boys, Kaiser Quain and Rayes Luke.

Look at how cute the boxes are designed.  Gosh... I was so jealous of my boys... lol.

Just look at how happy the boys were!  They were very curious what were inside the boxes and kept asking mummy to stop taking photos and quickly open up the boxes.

Ok, one last family photo before we explored what were inside these boxes.

The boys looked on in anticipation with what could be found inside the boxes.

ok, readers... make a guess.  What exactly is Thinkasaur?

Designed chiefly for children between the ages of 5 to 10 years old, Thinkasaur comes in the form of a science kit that provides the full spectrum of materials, equipment, instruction manuals and learning points for up to four experiments per box. Delivered direct-to-door, each box covers a specific scientific theme, such as chemistry, physics and Earth science!

See how engrossed the two boys were as they looked into the box.

When I told them that there were a total of 4 different activities in each Thinkasaur box, they were super happy!

The programme, which is founded primarily on encouraging hands-on learning and Do-It-Yourself fun for children, delivers a different set of science experiments each month for both parents and children to work on together. 

To teach them on the virtue of sharing, I got them to take turns to do a task each with the items provided in order to complete the activity.

Just take a look at the photos below... these two boys could hardly play together without fighting but for this activity from Thinkasaur, both of them listened attentively on the instructions which I gave them...hahaha!

The good thing about Thinkasaur is that the activities are separated into individual packaging hence I can choose to do some activities on another day, which I did.  Hence we had family fun again, the next evening!

Thinkasaur subscription programmes are offered either on a 6-month period at $43/month or a 12-month period at $40/month and are available for purchase online at www.thinkasaur.com. 

Alternatively, single boxes are available for purchase at $48/box. 

The two boys love the hands-on activities to bits as they get to do something interesting while mummy learns that they are learning something instead of just playing with toys.   

Science has never been so fun till Thinkasaur exists!

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