indoor playground singapore

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Finally we have an indoor playground of sort which had recently opened up in the sleepy Hougang town. Rightfully put, it is a Climbing Room designed especially for the young ones.

Xi En has recently showed interest in scaling walls but we have yet to bring him to a wall climbing place as I was concerned if those were a little too high. Then again, it is probably my own height phobia getting in the way. With a smaller place such as My Little Climbing Room, I was excited to let the 2 boys experience rock climbing.

Located at Promenade @ Pelikat (near Kovan), it is really a “room”! I was pleasant surprised that though it is located within a small mall, it was sufficient to entertain my boys for the entire 90 mins play session.

Each 90 play sessions starts with 30 minutes of free play, then 30 minutes of group games, followed by another 30 minutes of free play. It is advisable to arrive 15 to 20 minutes earlier to allow ample time for safety briefing and gearing up. Proper grip socks are compulsory as the kids were be climbing with only socks on.

Gearing up.

The entire room isn’t huge but surprising, packed a bunch. There are four 4meters high walls, a Number Wall, an Obstacle Wall, an AR (Augmented Reality) Wall. There is also a Hangout Zone and some wheelies for variety.

Compact climbing room which packs a punch.

Xi en took the high walls immediately upon arrival. He is a very focused sort and wanted to complete a mission card given to all climbers. Being a first timer, I think he did very well (without cheating!) as he navigated through the instructions. He was short of 2 very difficult climbs at the end of the play session which he insisted to return for.

Scaled the first empty wall he found.

Parents play a big part in the climbs as well. Each child has to be accompanied by a parent/care-giver who will take the role of belaying the child. It is also for the purpose of child-parent bonding instead of parents sitting out and staring at our mobile phones.

Eizac was quite apprehensive about climbing walls initially as he was doubtful that he could do the same as the older kids. So I coaxed him into trying out the Obstacle Wall first. He had fun going for the bell, lopping through the hula loop, pushing himself further to touch a higher bell and etc. Being a IPad fanatic, Eizac also enjoyed the AR wall with “bubbles” which you slapped when you reached them. Towards the end of the play session, he also mustered enough confidence to try out half of the 4meters high wall which is such a booster to his morale!

Giving his best at the Obstacle Wall.

Reaching to tinkle the bells

He caught me by surprise by wanting to try a tall wall towards the end of the session. And he mustered enough courage to scale half the wall. Love that spirit!

During the 30 mins group games, the room was dimmed and the kids played a game to the tunes of Baby Shark Song. It was entertaining though I thought maybe 30 mins might be too long to entertain the hyper active children. Or perhaps more than 1 game might be necessary? The kids were also given little erasers strategically placed at different levels of a low wall to climb and reach for them as a mini reward. Good strategy!

All eyes on his eraser! Open-mouthed smile

The Hangout and Wheelies zones prove to be good distraction for those who are not scaling the walls or want to take a break.

Conclusion: My boys liked My Little Climbing Room and asked to be back again. We understood from the owners that they will change the positions of the grips every few months so to refresh the climbs and also introduce new games from time to time. I find this place a good starting ground for those who want to introduce rock climbing to their young ones. It is an easier and less daunting platform for those under 3 years old as well. We will be back: Xi En wants to return to finish his “mission” card while Eizac wants to ring more bells!