sThings at the Gardens are getting mighty big and exciting this March!

Here are some of the exciting programs for everyone in the family:

• Blossom Bliss: Save the air-ticket! Once again, you can walk among beautiful peach blossoms i.e. Sakuras, of virtually all colours (a rare treat!) at the Flower Dome. (Ticketed, with timing)
• The Dye-nosaur Gardens: Catch many multi-coloured LIFE-SIZED dinosaurs roar to life in front of your very eyes! (Free)
• Trail of the Missing Colours – Dinosaur Egg Hunt: Redeem prizes when you can locate all the colourful (and big) dinosaur eggs around the Gardens. (Free)
• Interactive Story-telling: Take a trip back in time as you hear stories from the time of the dinosaurs. These interactive sessions is sure to be spell-binding!(Free)
• Fossil and Excavation Workshop: Join the team from The Learning Lab and be a Paleontologist as you learn about fossils..how they are made and how to locate them…carefully. (Ticketed)
• Dinosaur-themed Terrarium and Excavation Workshop: Learn more about prehistoric plants with the team from The Learning Lab and create your own prehistoric garden and bring it home with you! (Ticketed)
• A World of Wonder – Garden Rhapsody: Regale under the glow of the Supertrees as they ‘dance’ and glow to the rhythm of whimsical and magical tunes from iconic animations and shows. (Free)
• Carnival Games and Rides Galore: Join in the fun as a family. Let loose, laugh and have a memorable time at the Gardens filled with Dinosaurs…and many unique memories! (Ticketed)

We had a wonderful time during a recent preview. Here are some tips to maximise your visit.

Blossom Bliss (粉色之恋) Floral Display (now till 24 March 2017):

This is always the highlight of the season. The ‘Sakura’ blooms are back…bigger and prettier! I’ll let the photos here do the ‘talking’. They are very captivating and even tourists flock to see it as it is a rare chance to see so many different colours of the Peach Blossoms and Cherry Blossoms all in ONE location! This is sure to flood Instagram with loads of Instagrammable moments!

Tips:
1. Entry to the Flower Dome during Blossom Bliss is ticketed with timing. To manage the crowd, tickets are issued based on 2-hour intervals beginning from 9am and with the last ticketed entry is at 7pm (the Flower Dome opens at 9am and closes at 9pm).

2. Follow the Gardens’ Facebook Page and Twitter Account to get timely updates on the state of flowering before you visit. 

3. How do I book the tickets? Online and On the Spot – For every 2 hour session, there are about 2000 tickets up for sale. While you can buy them at the ticketing counter, why not save yourself the ‘hassle’ of standing in line? Just buy them online before you leave home. You can check the number of tickets available for each session on Gardens by the Bay Facebook Page.  

4. Join Friends of the Gardens – in addition to the loyalty perks (e.g. Free Car Park for first 2 hours), you get to go see the Blossoms with NO TIMED ENTRY! i.e. No need to queue at the ticketing counter to get your tics, just need to queue at the entrance if there are people waiting to go it.

There is also EXCLUSIVE EARLY ENTRY to Flower Dome for Friends of the Gardens Members  from 10 – 12 Mar 2017 between 8.00am to 9.00am specially for Friends of the Gardens to enjoy the Blossom Bliss floral display. This goes to prove that membership does have its privileges. More details: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/join-us/friends-of-the-gardens/friends-privileges.html

5. Go during the day: Personally, these Peach Blossoms are best appreciated when natural light shines through their petals. Magical in fact.  If you want to take nice pictures of the blossoms, avoid weekends.

The Dye-nosaur Gardens:

Imagine…Life-sized dinosaurs ‘roaming’ the Gardens amidst the Super-trees! Dinosaur exhibitions are aplenty but very rarely are they true to size that even adults, myself included, stopped in our tracks and just stood in awe of not one but MANY of these prehistoric creatures around the Gardens! For one, I never knew Triceratops were so huge!! While the larger ones including the towering Brontosaurus are housed at the Super Tree Grove, there are the medium to smaller ones around the general garden area. They should be easy to spot as they are in very striking colours and some of them even glow in the dark!

Tips:
1. Bring a super-wide angle lens to ‘shoot’ them – they are huge!

2. They are ‘everywhere’ in the Gardens…try to follow the clues to locate them all!

Trail of the Missing Colours- Dinosaur Egg Hunt:

Not only can you marvel at the dinos…you can help them look for their colourful eggs. For your effort, your get to redeem some prizes!

Tip: Follow the cute signs!

TLL Workshops: The Lab Before Time

Dinosaur Themed Terrarium & Excavation Workshop*

• Create your own little prehistoric world to take home with you! Besides learning about self-contained ecosystems and the various plants in our environment, your child will get to make his or her own dinosaur terrarium. Participants in this workshop will also get a chance to be archaeologists for the day and discover dinosaurs in our Dinosaur Excavation Pit!

• Date & Time : 10 – 17 Mar 2017 and every Sat & Sun from 18 Mar – 2 Apr 2017
  2:00pm – 3:00pm | 4:00pm – 5:00pm | 6:00pm – 7:00pm | 8:00pm – 9:00pm
• Location: Supertree Grove

Fossil & Excavation Workshop*

• Learn how to make your own fossils, then dig them up like a real paleontologist! During this workshop, your child will learn about how fossils are formed and get to try making his or her very own fossil to bring home. While the fossils are drying, your child will get to excavate and discover dinosaurs on their own in our Dinosaur Excavation Pit.

• Date & Time: 10 – 17 Mar 2017 and every Sat & Sun from 18 Mar – 2 Apr 2017
  1.00pm – 2.00pm | 3.00pm – 4.00pm | 5.00pm – 6.00pm | 7.00pm – 8.00pm  

• Weekdays from 18 Mar – 2 Apr 2017 – Every hourly from 1.00pm to 9.00pm
• Location: Supertree Grove

Tips:
1. Arrive at least 30minutes before the time of the workshops as registration is only available on-site and each workshop is only limited to 20 participants per session.

2. All existing TLL students, Friends of the Gardens Members and Teck Ghee CC Yolo kids receive a 20% discount off your child’s event registration fee. Simply present the relevant IDs to receive discount upon registration.

For more exciting programmes on the Children’s Festival 2017, refer to this website: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/whats-on/calendar-of-events/children-festival/weekdays.html

There’s plenty to do for everyone at Gardens By the Bay this March School Holidays. Get the whole family out to have fun roaming among dinosaurs, walking beneath beautiful Cherry Blossoms, participating in the myriad of educational activities…but don’t forget the camera!