Be Entertained at Home

Stay Fit With Online Classes

ActiveSG consolidates a wealth of online workout classes, with activities ranging from pilates and piloxing to parkour fundamentals. The schedule for these classes run till August so you’re all set to continue working out at home even as the circuit breaker measures gradually ease – no need to jostle for space outdoors or in studios. These classes require fees that will go towards supporting Singapore’s sports coaches and fitness instructors.

For free content to keep up your health and wellness, explore the world of Get Active TV on YouTube. As the official media channel for “all things Singapore fitness, active lifestyle, health and wellness”, it offers live virtual classes led by well-known local fitness personalities. Seniors can join in with easy home-based stretches and exercises. You’ll also find a cooking and nutrition show, where you can pick up meal prep tips and healthy recipes.

If you’ve enjoyed the free workouts under the Health Promotion Board (HPB)’s programmes, register for the free virtual workouts by Team Axis, HPB’s service partner. Or check out the HPB’s extensive activity schedule, as well as other wellness resources, on the HPB website.

Spend Quality Family Time Together

With Kid-Friendly Storytelling

Don't let COVID-19 put a damper on your child’s love for reading. Stay connected with the public libraries through online storytelling sessions, taking place Mondays through Saturdays and available in all four languages.

Made for children aged 4 to 10, these live storytelling sessions are conducted by public librarians. Past titles read include Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Bogey? and The Word Collector. If you miss the live storytelling sessions, fret not – recordings are available on the NLB website.

English Storytelling Sessions are available at these timings:

• Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:30 pm

• Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 am

To get notified whenever the English storytelling sessions go live, follow Public Libraries Singapore on Facebook.

Mother Tongue storytelling sessions are also available. Join each language’s Facebook group to find out more: Chinese | Malay | Tamil

With Experts on Strengthening Family Ties

Families for Life, the national family council, presents a series of specially curated videos, Facebook Live sessions and webinars. Get tips on coping as a family during this circuit breaker period and beyond, or engage in a variety of home-based activities for the whole family. There are webinar sessions almost every day on topics like managing children’s behaviour, staying resilient and even taking care of one’s eyesight during COVID-19, with all the added screentime. Check out the full listing of activities at the Families for Life website and Facebook.

With Tips for Learning and Working from Home

Even as school starts to resume in June, home-based learning will continue for many students over the next several weeks. At your wit’s end or looking for ways to improve the learning-from-home situation? Grab useful tips from the Ministry of Education’s Parent Kits on how to support your children’s learning, such as setting schedules and how to share devices for e-learning, while caring for your own well-being as you work from home.

There’s also a holiday edition for fun, educational things to do at home during the remainder of the school holidays and on weekends.

Expand Your Mind With Online Exhibitions

Get Your Geek On

Take this time to catch up on the rich content provided by the National Library. Its past exhibitions are available online in various digital formats. Learn about Singapore’s early advertising on a vibrant interactive website, or explore the library’s rare material collection “From The Stacks” in a virtual tour from your couch by tilting and zooming in on a mobile device. The National Archives’ exhibitions on Surviving the Japanese Occupation and important constitutional documents of Singapore are also accessible with 360° views and audio clips.

Time Travel With The National Museum

The National Museum of Singapore’s exhibition “An Old New World: From the East Indies to the Founding of Singapore, 1600s - 1819" is now available online. Uncover two centuries of international exploration, trade and intrigue, and understand the broader forces that culminated in the events of 1819. With a simple click of your mouse, you can move around, get up close to artefacts, and hear from the exhibition’s curators.

Stop By The Stamp Museum

While the Singapore Philatelic Museum undergoes renovation, take this chance to revisit the past exhibitions held there. A whopping 16 exhibitions have been uploaded onto the National Heritage Board's website. Zoom in and click around to explore the cool collections of stamps, artworks and other paraphernalia. From the “Anime x Stamps" exhibition to fresh portrayals of classic stories like The Little Prince through stamps, there is something for everyone. 

Explore Singapore’s Heritage Virtually

With the National Heritage Board’s #SGCultureAnywhere campaign, the fun and exploration into heritage can still go on even as we stay home.

Malay Festivities

The Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) is having an online #OnxOnRayaFest to celebrate Ramadan and Hari Raya. A Hari Raya concert will take place live on May 24 at 4:00 pm. Meanwhile, learn to make yummy Ramadan and Raya dishes and kuihs from local personalities Marina Yusoff, Firdaus Rahman and Member of Parliament Amrin Amin. The videos will be posted on the MHC Facebook page.

Search for recipe videos using the hashtag #OnxOnRayaFest, and look out for upcoming posts on these dates:

• May 30: Kueh Tapak Kuda

• June 6: Make Soto Ayam with Maria Mahat

• June 13: Kek Lapis

The Journey of Tamils in Singapore

Discover the history and rich heritage of our Tamil community with the Indian Heritage Centre. Its digital exhibition, “From the Coromandel Coast to the Straits - Revisiting Our Tamil Heritage”, explores ancient trade, religious, political and cultural contacts between the Tamils of the Coromandel Coast and Southeast Asia.

Dumplings and Dragon Boats

The Dumpling Festival is also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, an important festival celebrated by Chinese all over the world. In June, the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall will present its annual Wan Qing Dumpling Festival online as part of its ongoing efforts to promote Chinese arts, culture and heritage. Look forward to a cooking tutorial with step-by-step instructions on preparing rice dumplings, animated short stories, game contests and craft tutorials.

For the first time ever, the popular Singapore Heritage Fest goes online with a digital edition this June 19 till to July 5, 2020. Look out for digitally commissioned works; live-streamed webinars, workshops and demonstrations on our intangible cultural heritage; digital tours of heritage districts; interactive watch parties and more. Keep an eye out for more details at www.heritagefestival.sg.

Text by Tuber.

Photos by: National Museum of Singapore, Singapore Heritage Fest, ActiveSG, Malay Heritage Centre (MHC), National Library Board (NLB).