HOL couldn’t resist an excursion to Art Zoo. The inflatable playground was part of i Light Marina Bay, a light-art festival, in March. Jessie and Wendy, our content curators, felt like they were kids again. Let’s see what they said about their experience.
Jessie: What caught our eyes first?
Wendy: For me, the colours and the cute animals. With Marina Bay Sands in the backdrop, it was beautiful. I immediately thought that my six-year-old niece would love to be there.
Jessie: It was like a carnival, wasn’t it? The kiddie background music made it quite dreamlike too.
Wendy: The kids were all jumping and running around. Many parents were having fun too, bouncing on the inflatables. I enjoyed identifying the animals and their habitats. I was also quite excited to explore the stomach of the whale. It’s a cute idea to fill it up with the small inflatable balls, which were the “plankton”.
Jessie: As for me, I really liked that we could walk right in and just start bouncing. It’s enabling play in the simplest way. So intuitive!
Wendy: I agree. Actually, I’m against animal captivity – maybe an art zoo like this could educate kids about conservation issues and even replace existing zoos? So I thought it could be a bit more educational. Perhaps they could have more info about the animals and the habitats.
Jessie: Or fringe activities such as dramatised guided tours, storytelling and craft. Children would love these.
Wendy: Jumping on bouncy things is a simple thing, but it’s so fun for all ages. Play can make learning a lot more interesting. So coming back to our programmes and exhibitions – it’s really important to curate experiences that offer fun and excitement.
Jessie: Simple doesn’t necessarily mean boring. And Art Zoo proved it. And simple means that it’s intuitive for your audience, so they can focus on the actual experience and responding to it.
Wendy: Art Zoo was really fun, wasn’t it?
Jessie: Yeah, it was great.