Petrosains Visit 2015

I think Petrosains needs no introduction.
Think of it as Malaysia's modern museum focusing on the petroleum industry.

This is the grand entrance.

Picture from Petrosains website

The kids are getting used to regular 'learning trips'

While Tiger actually learns something new, Dragon's intention is to get rid of excess energy.

The queue was long as we waited for the Dark Ride to take us upstairs.

Once inside, they rushed to whatever display was closest.

They are like a couple of hungry wolves, sometimes.

This is the coin tornado that looks like a funnel.

We've seen one of these in a shopping mall recently as part of a donation drive for the

national kidney foundation. I think we donated rm10 worth of coins then.

At Petrosains, they used metal washers of different sizes.

The electrostatic plasma tube

Used his body as a conductor to transfer the energy to the light tube.

There was a personnel nearby to explain everything.

but Tiger was just happy he was Electric Man for a few seconds.

 Next, is the Outer Space section.

Lots of buttons to keep these boys happy.

It is even better than the Planetarium Negara.

They love Miles From Tomorrowland.

The wind tunnel

The infrared camera

 Model of the interior of a space station

There were hands on activities in almost every section in Petrosains.

The programmable rover (supposedly on Mars)

Next was the dinosaurs display. 

There was a T-rex and the kids kept asking for other dinosaurs.

The information regarding the formation of petroleum were largely ignored.

Next section has a stage for talks and shows.

And tables of tools and gadgets for simple physics

Demo: Using non-fat milk to make curd magnets

The diggers..which they turned off the moment my kids sat on it.

They are turned off during talks and performances.

So, next time, try these first.

A simple mining machine with conveyor belt and pulleys.

The toddler area.

This is the super cool interactive art panels.

Hubs and I were total noobs.

We probably enjoyed these more than the kids :p

The kids were too young to appreciate the oil rig.

"Nothing to see here!"

So, Tiger and I spent our time at this interactive station.

He tried using orange peel oil to create a spark.

Her reaction said it all. 

My kid is farneeeeeee!

Coloring using natural ingredients:

Coffee, tumeric, pandan, red cabbage.

The kids love the race cars exhibit.

Mind game. Using brain waves to move the metal ball? 

 

The big kid.

She couldn't reach the pedal. Hehe.

So, she disturbed the brother instead :)

Great place, great value.

Call in advance for a reservation if you don't want to wait for tickets.

They have time slots, so you may not get in if it's full.

Visit the Petrosains website for printables and more information.

POPULAR Book Fair 2015

My sister and I are book fair stalkers.

Books are expensive here, especially with the crazy exchange rate right now.

A small board book for the kids can cost up to rm40!

So, you can imagine how excited we are whenever book fairs come along.

We usually wait for a few major ones:

1. POPULAR RM5 English Books Fair

2. The Big Bad Wolf 

3. MPH Warehouse sales

After a few years, the books starts to look the same :p

We used to grab whatever board books available when the kids were younger.

There is no telling which would become the favourite.

So cheap ma, buy all laaaa!

This year, I tried something new.

I gave Tiger his own trolley to fill up with books that he would like to read.

That way, he was involved in the selection process.

Or whine. Or bounce eveywhere.

He did but it was at a more tolerable level than usual.

We ended up with lots of Animals and Dinosaurs books.

=.="

After I filtered his basket, we ended up with these.

 PS: I bought a 100 facts (Monkeys) from Bookxcess for RM 9.90

All the books here are rm5 each.

 

 

I picked some Disney illustrated version of classics. 

The illustrations reminded me of Archie :)

Should have gotten all for myself..haha.

One Tiger book, for Tiger and cats for Dragon.

 

 The Hello Kitty Book she hugs to sleep. Score!

She was such an angel at the fair.

Just chilling in the stroller with some random books Tiger chose.

 She requested for some coloring sheets and this is her work. Seriously.

These are my selections.

Some to complement our toobs and some for General Knowledge. 

 

These workbooks, we selected together with MIL.

Tiger requested for Chinese and Malay books.

The top row is 3 for RM10 (thicker).

The bottom row is 3 for RM5. 

Tiger's already started a-page-a-day on one of the chinese books;

 so that's missing from this pic.

School holiday homework!

Because he goes to a play school, he is so excited to be doing 'real' writing & homework.

"Did you do your homework?"

Nods his head excitedly, "I did two pages!!!"

It's highly unlikely he would be this enthusiastic after a few days of primary school 

in a couple of years from now. Such innocence. Tsk tsk.

 

 

 Some stationery.

A file divider rm 18 (NP: rm25). It makes the neat freak in me happy!

Sheet protectors. 2 packs for rm 15

Sofia Beginner UNO.

Foldable congkak.

Just realized it was a massive savings of 5% 

=.="

I am one of those stupid shoppers who thinks everything is cheap at fairs.

 

Still, I am pretty happy with our haul. A little bit of everything is our motto now.

As I was writing this post, I got a SMS from POPULAR, reminding me 

to spend more money at the fair. 

It's okay la, we've spent rm 268 already.

MIL bought three cooking books.

(Also not pictured are: one bottle of star sprinkles and a Minion pencil case)

***

So, in a nutshell, to survive the fair with kids:

Have a general idea of the types of books you want to buy.

Go early, during the beginning because some books & flashcards 

were long gone by the weekend.

Be fast and keep it short. (Otherwise the whining will start)

Give them a basket and let them think they are in control.

Filter books at the end. Do not try to argue in the middle of your trip.

Don't buy anything less than 30% discount. (stupid congkak mistake)

Everyone goes to the washroom before entry. (MUST!)

Bring an extra pair of hands if you can. Book fairs are like war zones. 

Still it was much calmer than baby fairs. I stay far, far away from those.

 

Good luck!

KL Bird Park With Kids

The Kuala Lumpur Bird Park is a 20.9-acre aviary in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It houses over 200 species of birds and most are roaming freely in the aviary.

There are more than 3000 birds!!! 

I am not a fan of beaks and claws but it is for the kids. 

The weather was crazy hot and humid on the day we went.

We brought a stroller, so the four kids took turns getting pushed around.

The place is huge, so I assumed the kids would tire quickly with all the walking.

Malaysians, you know....we drive everywhere.

My advise, bring umbrellas, hats, wet wipes and hankies. 

You will need them. 

You can bring your own water bottles.

(Water is expensive inside)

The park is pretty well maintained despite being 24 years old.

That is pretty amazing for anything made in Malaysia.

Our government LOVES building stuff, take pictures with the press,

 then NO MAINTENANCE.

This is at the main entry.

There were lots of tourists bustling about.

The tickets are not cheap.

We paid rm200 for (4 kids, 2 locals, and our helpers)

We spent about 4 hours in the park.

They are always excited to see fish ponds. 

We spotted a gigantic rat in the love birds' cage and it got everyone excited.

The storks are not shy...

and the kids are braver than I with birds.

This white egrets came as soon as we walked towards the birds/fish food dispenser :)

That's a stork.

This lil bugger is the egret. 

They basically started stalking Tiger.

So many storks!

We tried to name the birds we see but it wasn't easy for novices like us.

The walkways maybe pretty high up, so the adults spent most of our time

shouting at the kids to stop running and be careful :)

The magnificent peacock.

The beautiful owls. The furry ones are adorable.

We took lots of breaks.

It was surprisingly quiet and calm at zone 2.

The roads can be slippery and steep at certain parts, with slopes on one side. So do be careful.

But it's gorgeous and it felt like we were in a reserve forest, apart from the well paved roads :) 

There was a stream, so we decided to go for an adventure.

Another break.

The kids just wanted to spend money on fish food.

There were worms in Deedee's packet.

The kids were happiest at zone 4.

I should mention that no one paid attention to the bird most of the time.

Especially the cage ones.

Spying on the emus.

The very cooling walkway behind the artificial waterfall.

And their absolute favorite part of the trip :)

Coincidentally, it was near the bird show arena and the show was 4 pm,

just 20 minutes waiting time. Lucky us!

Tiger volunteered to hold the hoop for the macaw to fly through.

Fine, I put his hand up. Hehe.

Just pushing him out of his comfort zone :)

He did well!

The education center.

There were incubators and some life cycles information.

But mostly, we just wanted to enjoy the air-cond!

Tired

See you next time, bird!

On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being best):

Price: 3

Fun: 4

Educational: 5

Kid-friendliness: 3 (dangerous slopes)