Army Museum, kids’ edition

[ Media Invite ]

If you have pop by Army Museum of Singapore (ARMS) last Saturday, you might have thought a new childcare centre has started business. A group of parents (with very curious and active kids) were invited to understand more about SAF’s three services and discover “What is worth defending in Singapore“.

青一色 SengkangBabies’ soldiers Fall in, Daddy went in his No4 attire to blend in.

Colonel Seet giving a prep talk to young “recruits”, we suspect it is easier for him to motivate OCS Cadets 🙂

( Image credit Mindef )

Behind him, the “Core values” wall is from a melted AMX 13 tank. This atrium will be the kids’ playground for the morning.

Although we are at the Army Museum, there is no lack of hands-on activities for the kids.

Air Force “Rise above All”

RSAF recruitment exercise starts young, kids are clearly impressed ! Major Kenny’s visor and suit is too cool !

Boon Xin cannot decide between paper F15 or F16 Girl? Both fighter jets are cool. Take a stroll on our RSAF airfield to catch Singapore’s air assets.

Everyone loves paper aeroplanes right, especially so when our pilot told us he had flew his F15 over NDP before, the kids go “WoW” !

( Image credit Mindef )

Army shows us more hardware !

.. and food. Daddy actually miss his combat ration’s dog biscuit.

Participants got to feel the weight of a Full Pack (Full Battle Order can be up to 30kg of barang barang). Kids are eagerly digging out the contents, socks, snake-powder and underwear (giggles).

Daddy did not tell them whole platoons used to get knock-it-down treatment with FBO (Full Battle Order) !

At every station, kids don the uniforms and caps ! Just too Cute !
It would be nice if we can pose with SAR21 or GPMG too.

In Army lingo, Old Bird (老兵) helping junior. It is embarrassing, but Daddy forgot how to fold his Smart No4, and struggle with his boot gutter!

(we blog about Daddy’s Mindef Reserve in 2009)

( Image credit Mindef )

In fact, the kids were already “On the Ball” (psyched up) the night before, when they saw Daddy’s soldier boots. Their eyes brighten when Daddy told them the boots have left their footprints in Queensland, Thailand, and Brunei.

Meanwhile, we noticed a Commando slipping away stealthily.

Navy, we learn about our vessels, both surface and underwater.
We even build an Archer submarine!

Next time, we will say Port and Starboard (Left and Right respectively) when Daddy is driving. Kids even got to hunt down a terrorist ! Everyone understand their roles and responsibility, no one is trying to keng (malingering).

At the end of our orientation, we ask the kids “What will you defend?”
– Do we have a stake in Singapore?
– Who is protecting us while we sleep?
– How has our family benefited from Singapore’s stability?
– Is our lifestyle worth protecting?

We hope the kids have a better appreciation of what we have today, and not take our way-of-life for granted.

Our organisers even brought out some sweet treats for us. Who can resist the adorable Army cupcakes? Any Submarine?

Do you know about the outdoor Standard Obstacle Course (SOC) at Army Museum?
Ideal for parents who wish to Tekan see their kids struggle with the low wall :p

Daddy forgot to remind kids that they are supposed to look tired on the SOC, not smiling! SOC is something siong (tough) like this clip.

In the aircon comfort, we practice our marksmanship with Nerf guns. Whoever (including adults) ventures into the hot zone become a Figure-10 target board !

Kiddy Rides should be the highlight for most of the kids. But Daddy is not sure the Light Strike vehicles are supposed to be driven like BumpeR cars !

Ooops, someone drop a side mirror.

Thank you to the organisers for bringing all three SAF services under one roof.
Kids got to be a pilot, wear army pixelated fatigues, and even hunt pirates !

Daddy hopes that they understand that Singapore’s Freedom and Sovereignty
is not a granted, and needs to be protected.

Video : They got to fold little Leopard, Submarines and Fighter jets too.

If we have more time, Daddy would have brought the kids to visit the soldiers’ bunks (with bed and cabinet). Maybe we can show them Stand-By Bed?

They will definitely be impressed with ARMS’ special 4D movie, simulating an activation of Singapore Armed Forces to face off with a potential adversary. You can feel the Super Pumas’ downdraft. (galleries here)

For more Army activities, do drop by Army Museum and participate in “Army Lingo“.

(Image credit Army Museum)

Some of the following parenting bloggers have already indicated “What they will Defend” in their blogpost. Nice to catch up with you folks 🙂

– Klessis and Isaiah
– Irene
– Vincent
– Allison
– Felicia
– Ling Siew
– Rachel
– Winnie

** Do take note the three services’ activities are not a “standard” feature at Army Museum. This is a first attempt by Mindef to try and reach out to families, and help kids understand more “about SAF and how it protects Singapore”. If response is good, we hope it will become a regular feature.

More details about Army Museum trip and photos :

– Army Museum of Singapore is Free for Singaporeans
– Parking is free at Singapore discovery Centre
– Army Museum homepage and Fanpage.
– More photos on our Fanpage
– Pop by our Navy 2013, Army 2012 and Airforce 2008 open-house adventures