Garden Troopers Preview Workshop

It was a pleasant Friday morning when we attended the Garden Troopers preview workshop at Gardens by the Bay.

My 12 y/o girl who has always been fascinated by plants had a great time playing "What plant am I?" with the other kids after a fun self-introduction at the beginning of the workshop. The paper with a photo of a plant and its corresponding common name were pasted behind the kids' back and they went around to ask the other kids what plant they are by asking for clues like; Am I a flower? Am I a tree? Do I bear fruits? 

Being one of the oldest in the group, K was one of the kids who managed to guess what plant they are. The facilitators helped by giving descriptions of the plants pasted behind their back. The two kids who didn't manage to guess what plant they are were asked to do jumping jack just for fun. In fact, they were so close to guessing what plant they are. You know that feeling of having the answer at the tip of your tongue?

After the fun ice-breakers, the kids went inside Calabash room to design their own name tags using recycled papers.

Afterwhich, they went to the World of Plants and learned about proper naming of plants from Cindy, a resident Horticulturist of Gardens by the Bay, Education Department.

The kids were given a worksheet to practice writing scientific names of different plants. They also learned the meaning of some latin words which were commonly used in scientific naming of plants.

After learning about plant nomenclature, the kids went back to Calabash room to have a hands on experience of planting by stem cutting. If you may ask, my girl has a number of potted small plants at home and she calls them her babies. She even talk to her babies whilst watering them everyday. She was so elated when she learned she could take home her newly planted "baby".

Whether your kid has a green thumb or not, you may want to consider to register him/her for the Garden Troppers Workshop which will be held at Gardens by the Bay on the 24th and 25th of November 2014. It is a fun and educational workshop you can add to your list of activities to engage your child with during the school holidays. You are rest assured to feed your kid's curiosity and awake his/her senses during the workshop, you won't regret signing up!

Registration details:

·         The workshop is recommended for children between the ages of 9 and 12.

·         To register, please visit www.gardensbythebay.com.sg by 31 October 2014.

·         Friends of the Gardens will be entitled to a 15% discount.

·         Advanced registration and payment are required as limited slots are available.

·         For further enquiries, please email education@gardensbythebay.com.sg or contact 6420 6843.