Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

Weather :

Tags : Garden & Park

Timings : Tuesday - Sunday: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM Last Admission: 6:30 PM Closed on Monday

Time Required : 2-3 hours

Entry Fee : No entry fee
Age limit - 14 Years
Children aged 12 and below are allowed only with a guardian

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Jacob Ballas Children's Garden, Singapore Overview

A part of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden is Asia's first garden dedicated solely to children. Themed on 'Life on Earth Depends on Plants', this kid-centric garden has varied interactive zones along with a play area with a farm, an orchard and a forest with streams and ponds. The other attractions for the young ones are the suspension bridge and the treehouses. At Jacob Ballas Children's Garden, the kids are encouraged to observe how the plants grow and learn simple gardening techniques.

The unique garden hosts Botanic Gardens Children's Festival every year. In this two-week-long festival, children get to learn about farms, compost and propagation techniques. Kids are open to participation in daily hands-on activities and demonstrations. The festival encourages children of all ages to get in touch with nature through play, craft, investigations, storytelling and walks.

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Jacob Ballas Children's Garden Zones

The garden has been segmented into four new zones to witness the first-hand ecology of plants through nature play and learn about various ecosystems. 

Farm Zone
The farm zone has a well-grown, neatly labelled vegetable plot. The garden in the farm zone has different fruits and leafy vegetables for the children to explore and learn. This place is excellent for children to learn that fruits and vegetables don't grow in supermarkets. They are shown diagrams of where food comes from and how it is transported to our homes. The children also get to learn how to grow their own food and reduce food waste by generating compost.

Forest Zone
The Forest Zone enables children to learn about forests and their inhabitants. The centre of attraction here is the Flying Fox, which immediately draws kids towards it. This area has timber logs strategically placed in an area leading to the rope bridge. This is aimed at improving balance and psychomotor skills in children. It also has a small sandpit with a nest swing to let the children experience nestle and sway like baby birds.
This zone is special for its inclusive play equipment for children with special needs. It also has a wheelchair trampoline where kids with wheelchairs enjoy the fun they deserve. Metal cajons are placed to encourage percussion play. This helps children on the autism spectrum to focus through the repetitive nature of learning a tune.

Stream Zone
The stream zone is an area where children can spot plant and animal species that make their home in the stream with clever adaptations. The plants found along the stream are the Putat - that also resides in swampy forests, the Simpoh Air - a shrub with large leaves and flowers that grow across forest edges, and marshlands.

Orchard Zone
The Orchard Zone has a deck neatly set aside to exhibit how popular beverages come from cocoa, tea and coffee plants. The kids can head on the board atop the overhead bridge to enjoy the canopy of trees closely, including the tree with fake mangosteens.

Tips

  • Adults are permitted entry at Jacob Ballas Children's Garden, only if they are accompanying a child
  • If entering the garden without a child, consult the service desk for entry. Usually, the entry in such cases is rarely granted only when accompanied by the park's staff.
  • Bicycle, scooter and skateboard aren't allowed to be carried inside the park.
  • Pets are not allowed.

How To Reach Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

MRT: Jacob Ballas’ Children Garden is a ten-minute walk from Botanic Gardens MRT Station. The train goes either from the Circle Line or the Downtown Line from Botanic Gardens.

Bus: Get down at NUS Bukit Timah Campus bus stop at Bukit Timah Road or at Aft Kheam Hock Road bus stop along Dunearn Road. Jacob Ballas’ Children Garden is a five-minute walk from respective bus stops. Buses available at Dunearn Road and Bukit Timah Road are 48, 66, 67, 151, 153, 154, 156, 170, 171 and 186.

Car/Taxi: Jacob Ballas’ Children Garden can be approached by two ways - from Dunearn Road and Bukit Timah Road. 
The Dunearn Road route involves arriving at the Dunearn-Kheam Hock Road intersection after which one has to take a right turn to enter NUS Bukit Timah Campus. From the Campus, turn right into Jacob Ballas Children's Garden right after the car park.
The Bukit Timah route involves reaching the Bukit Timah-Kheam Hock Road junction after which one takes a left to enter NUS Bukit Timah Campus. Again from here, take a right for Jacob Ballas Children's Garden right after the car park.

It is important to note that there are limited car parking lots at Jacob Ballas Children's Garden and NUS Bukit Timah Campus.

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