In which we shot a lot.

The Singapore Discovery Centre! I went with some other bloggers and some of the Nanowrimo crew on last Saturday there. It was actually easy to get to the place since all we had to do was drop at the last stop of the western side of the green line aka Joo Koon. I always wanted to see what was at Joo Koon and now I know. Anyway, it was just a five or so minutes walk from the station to get there.

Here’s a teaser/trailer for this post. Heh.

So on we went!

Besides our special purple sticker to show that we were in one group and had access to go around SDC, we got an envelope thingy and a brochure map of the place from the guide. The envelope is for us to put the postcards that we’d find around the centre. There’s nine in total while there’s 8 points in the map. The last bonus postcard is actually in the current exhibit for the season. There’s always on exhibit where they change every three or so months so it’s not always the same. This season’s exhibit is the SG Tidbits 365 which, well… We’ll get to it later.

Oooh yes, we also got a funky bonus coupon to try out paintball! Five shots just to try out, minimal age of 18 needed though so anyone younger needs to get a waiver form signed. Once we got all these, onwards we went into the “dark” area where we get to see on the screens of Singapore’s past or what had happened in the various eras to get to the present.

Went down past the dark area towards the start of the other exhibits, it’s So Singapore! There we passed by signs with Singlish on it and such to show the translation of it in English. That’s our guide there leading the way.

Fun fact! These stations actually have a special coffee shop series by Mr Brown! There are some that you are able to listen on his website but the coffee shop series aren’t available online and are only at these stations at the SDC since it was specially recorded for them.

Thus we went along the exhibits in the centre. There’s actually quite a lot but then if I posted ever single picture, this post would be too long. They’re also interactive by the way so you can play with them and all. Oh yes, this is Little George. You can ask him questions and say hello. We asked the guide if anyone asked for 4d numbers and yes, Little George did do so and did strike it before too. So duh, duh, DUH. Up to you if you want to ask it.

Okay this is way super cool. Even cooler if you went there with a whole freaking class or something. At the entrance of this room, there’s timings to know when the next game starts. Yes, it’s a game. If only there was this technology used for tournaments or something but I guess, it would be overkill then, I guess. Okay, go there with your friends so at least you can go do the games in ANY of the exhibits together.

Oh and here’s Joelyn being a reporter from the past! We did other stuff like… um, dancing too. Yeah, you got to go there to find out! Hahahaha.

THIS is what Command and Conquer series should be played like!! Four players consisting of one commander and the rest are the soldiers and stuff. Touch screen with a huge screen in front of everyone to show what’s happening. WELCOME TO THE COMMAND HQ. There were people playing it so I didn’t get to, blaaar.

Before we got to this section though, we saw a screening of a what if Singapore got hit by terrorists and WARGH, the video. It is very well directed and acted unlike the “suspicious item” video that’s always shown at the MRT stations, this was much more believable. I guess that’s why it isn’t shown at the MRT stations because it would be sob worthy and wouldn’t have fake looking explosions like it.

I seem to be posting a lot of military stuff but that’s because the other photos are blur for mine and that I find these stuff interesting to post! Obviously we went into the helicopter to take pictures because then we could pretend we were on one. The other exhibits inside actually had the history and future bits of Singapore. And well, it is a Singapore Discovery Centre, it was mostly about Singapore!

BY THE WAY, we got a little tour of Crossfire! It’s an obstacle course area for paintball shooting! We didn’t shoot there though since it was renovating and only opened the next day.

Then we got to the SG Tidbits 365! This isn’t a permanent exhibit so catch it while it’s still there!

Yes, I took picture of the mini obstacle course thingy. On the other side was actually cultural stuff and a wardrobe hanger full of outfits from various cultures here. You could try them out actually like the cheongsam, kebaya etc. There was also a giant kaleidoscope which was pretty pretty when you turned the wheel and looked into it. If you went further along, there was also a giant pop up book which you could look through and stuff.

Oh yes, you can take the stickers there and there’s also a postcard somewhere around there… If you have a fun fact of Singapore that not many people know, you can write it down on the pieces of paper and put it there or put your fact online here! Prizes can be won too, heh. Deadline is 31st December though.

After going through all the exhibits, we got to the XD theatre! Best seats in the front so the stuff can blow at you and heh, yes, the seats do move around! Oh yeah, before we went in here, we used our coupons outside to try out the paint ball gun. It was pretty addictive so… Yes, I foresee having some paint ball adventures. Besides the XD theatre, they have an I Werks theatre with actually some of the latest movies. Thing is, the prices are MUCH cheaper here compared to a typical cinema in town. Prices are $7 and heh, it won’t be as crowded as the other cinemas too.

After the screening, we got to try another sort of shooting gallery.

You just need a minimum height to go to this shooting gallery.

You can choose the gun or the SAR 21 to use. Their ranges are pretty much next to each other. They’re simulation guns but actually have recoil and such like a real weapon so you need to be careful on how you hold it so you won’t hurt yourself. You can see my score there. We were doing a simulation where the soldiers were coming at us.

So there! That was fun. You can check more photos on Claudia’s flickr account here too. Pssst, she organized this whole tour thing or rather 24Seven did! Meanwhile, watch out for future adventure posts every Monday, I’ll be posting them starting officially in January. It will be Sarah Does Singapore!