Step Into the Hawkerverse at Children’s Museum Singapore along Coleman Street where kids can discover Singapore’s vibrant and indispensable hawker culture through fun and interactive exhibits.
The Into the Hawkerverse exhibition at the kid-friendly museum aims to introduce Singapore’s vibrant and indispensable hawker culture to little ones.
It also seeks to deepen their understanding of hawker culture in a fun, immersive and interactive way.
Children’s Museum Singapore’s Into the Hawkerverse
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Into the Hawkerverse covers various aspects of hawker culture, a prevalent part of Singapore life.
It dishes out on all sorts from hawker culture, going back in time and reaching forward to today’s hawker heroes. Kids can learn everything about street hawkers, popular and well-loved hawker dishes and as far as hawker centre design!
The Into the Hawkerverse exhibition also feature hands-on activities, multisensory exploration, and object-based learning.
Children will be engaged across three galleries where they will find plenty of interactive exhibits.
Shadow Puppet Theatre
There is a shadow puppet theatre where kids can manouver coloured visuals with scenes of hawkers in past and present. There is food types, stalls, seating and even rats to include in the performance!
Object Cabinet
The Object Cabinet holds a collection of items that kids (and even adults) may not otherwise be familiar with. Do you think you can guess what the purpose of each item is?
Drinks Pushcart
Nowadays, we order our drinks from the drinks store. But there was a time when drinks would sold on the street in a push cart. Kids can pose by the one at the Children’s Museum Singapore exhibition.
Besides examining pictures of push carts of the past, kids can see how drinks are bottled with metal caps and even take a sniff at the drink flavours. The older generations will certainly reminisce this bygone era of sugared drinks served in glass bottles.
Escape from the Inspectors! Game
Kids can pretend that they are an old-time hawker with their entire store their shoulder and navigate their way through an obstacle course to run away from the inspectors!
Tok Tok Mee Stall
Remember the days of the Tok Tok Mee Stall by the roadside? Hear the songs of the noodle seller and tap along with the bamboo stick. While they no longer exist, we certainly know why the name “Tok Tok”. Kids can also dress up while pretending to be hawkers with a wardrobe located near the exit.
Chendol Stall
How about hawking chendol on a mobile stall? Take a sniff of the ingredients and find out what tools were used to concoct the popular dessert. Durian’s not for sale though!
Tools of the Trade
Mount a platform to check out tools of the hawker trade, including a stench of unhygienic practices. So remember to clean the pots and pans well!
Cook Up a Storm
We also enjoyed the many hands-on and interactive exhibits around the Into the Hawkerverse exhibition. Whether it is pretending to fry up some delicious hawker food or many a chendol store, these interactive exhibits are a great way for kids to learn about Singapore’s hawker culture.
At two realistic hawker stalls, children can pretend to whip up tasty dishes. Coleman Street Cooked Food is where play pretend is elevated to a live customer-hawker experience. Just input your order on the touchscreen, then the hawker receives the order to start preparing the various options from Chilli Crab to Oyster Omelette. There is an indicator to tell the hawker when food is overcooked! We loved this play pretend experience, where families can come together to role-play the hawker-customer experience.
Plating Your Own Hawker Dish
The play pretend continues with realistic platters displayed and the invitation to piece together your own dishes. We were so impressed by the mouthwatering array of dishes! Don’t forget to wipe off the drool.
Da Bao Corner
Need some quiet space? Head to the enclosed shoes-off Da Bao corner where children can quieten down and also be engaged with sensory toys. We love how consideration for children who may need a break from the stimulation can be included in the play plus learn more about preparing takeaways.
Weighing Scale
Another fun and interactive exhibit is a see-saw weighing scale that kids can sit on. This illustrates the amount of food wasted by each person each year, as well as the amount of food wasted per household per month.
Hawker Master Action Challenge
Think you can be a hawker? Take on the challenge! This fun game can be played in solo or as a duel. Now get your hands ready for making teh tarik!
Building Your Own Hawker Stall
This is where you can create your own hawker stalls and display them. Little ones can check out the LEGO model a hawker centre and be inspired to create their own miniature versions.
A Library of Hawker Dishes
Want more information about hawker dishes? Spend some time at A Library of Hawker Dishes to uncover the stories and history behind each dish. You can also check out intricate scenes of hawkers and tools hawkers use to craft their unique food and drinks.
Other sections of the exhibition to check out include latest machinery for hawkers, suggestions on new hawker centre designs, a charades corner where children can play games on guessing hawker dishes and more!
Play Pot
Kids can also head over to Play Pot. This is a dedicated playspace designed for children below 4 years old.
Inside this playspace, kids can pretend to play masak masak, or even dive into a mee goreng pool.
Explore Play and Learn about Singapore’s Hawker Culture
Into the Hawkerverse is a fun way for kids to learn about Singapore’s hawker culture. It illustrates and creates an appreciation for the roles of hawkers in Singapore. We were blown away by how much the children can learn about hawker culture at the highly sensory and immersive exhibition.
It is now on at Children’s Museum Singapore. “Chope” your spot via the Children’s Museum Singapore website.
For more fun ideas for outings with kids, check out our list of things to do during the June holidays in Singapore.
