The best indoor playgrounds for kids in Singapore

It’s a big year for Mandai Wildlife Reserve with the arrival of Rainforest Wild Asia, but there’s another reason to head down: Curiosity Cove, Singapore’s largest nature-themed indoor playground. Spanning 4,600 square metres, this "phygital" playscape at Mandai Wildlife East features 32 multi-sensory experiences across four vibrant zones: The Wetlands, Forestlands, Grasslands, and The Drylands. From scaling a six-metre-tall Orangutan Sleeping Platform to crawling through a 27-metre-long snake belly, kids aged three to 12 can explore reimagined ecosystems through tactile and digital play. Calm Zones are available for a breather, while Ranger Buddies activities add extra fun. Tickets cost $48 per child (includes one free accompanying adult) for a two-hour adventure. Read our full review here. 

Nestled in Toys"R"Us at Jewel Changi Airport is Kiztopia Club. This massive aviation-themed playground occupies more than 4,500 square feet of space, and has thrilling features to entertain kids and parents for hours on end. Kids can zoom down a funnel slide and into a ball pit, practise their aim at an interactive ball-shooting game wall, challenge themselves at obstacle courses, and explore a giant plane structure. Single admission tickets start at $24.80 for an hour of play. 

Kiztopia has 9 outlets in Singapore, including Marina Square, Orchard Cineleisure, and River Valley. 

Take your kid climbing at My Little Climbing Room, Singapore’s first indoor climbing space for children. The space contains various four-metre high walls that  beginner climbers won’t find intimidating, as well as monkey bars and an obstacle wall to keep the climbing experience fun and fresh. There is also a wall that integrates augmented reality, where kids have to scale the wall to hit certain targets to score points, encouraging kids to be both active and strategic.

Founded by parents of young children for parents with young children, Better Play is a Montessori-inspired play space for kids to develop a natural interest in various activities. The space is filled with high-quality toys such as an elaborate train set where kids can build their own towns. Better Play also holds music and crafting classes to encourage your little tots to hone their creativity and potentially develop an interest in music or art. This calm and serene environment is the perfect safe space for your child to play and express themselves.

Kids who enjoy playing pretend will surely enjoy Little Bear’s House, for their space includes a play area that mimics a grocery store and also has a toy pizza oven for children to pretend to be customers and workers. Little Bear’s House also includes a wide variety of toys that not only encourage interactive play with other kids but also independent play for kids to develop cognitive skills. The space also includes a nursing room and a changing facility for parents to tend to their children during a session.

Where better to let your little one develop an interest in the arts than at the Esplanade? Pip’s Playbox offers a myriad of activities for your child to engage in, such as origami, colouring, and a play area filled with toys and books that will keep your child entertained for hours on end. There are many quiet “hiding spots” for you and your kid to simply enjoy the books written by local authors.  

Bring your little sailor to this pirate-themed playground equipped with a ball pit, trampolines, as well as a café area with kitchen play sets for your kids to play make-believe. Kids can also build a  fort using various foam blocks, encouraging creativity and expression of self. Pirate Land also comes with a toddler and baby area, and it includes mini slides and baby toys to ensure that even your littlest ones will have a fun time.

There's a new water playground in town, and it's Aqua Adventure at the brand spanking new HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir. Rain or shine, kids can splash about at this all-weather water adventure centre. They'll have a blast speeding down Singapore's largest indoor waterslide, or monkeying about at an aquatic rope course. So, pack your swimsuits and head east!

For parents looking to keep their little ones engaged and happy without having to accumulate a room full of toys at home, Joy of Toys could just be the perfect solution. A specialty indoor play area located within Clarke Quay Central, Joy of Toys is equipped with an extensive selection of fun and educational toys housed within a clean and conducive environment.

Kids under three can play in the Toddler Play Space, which features items like a mini play kitchen, dolls, a play cot and pram, wooden pull-along toys, puzzles and more. In the Main Play Space, older children will have a stimulating time figuring out brain teasers or engaging in open-ended play with life-sized doll house and realistic real-world set-ups like mini Weber grills, a Japanese café and even a little cake shop.

If you’re looking for ways to nurture your little ones’ imagination and creativity, then Kaboodle's the place. The spacious indoor playground located within Katong Square is filled with large blue foam blocks from Imagination Playground – a brand conceived by award-winning American architect, David Rockwell. Here, children (aged 1 to 12) can create anything they want from the blue blocks. There are no rules and no right or wrong way to play and create – kids are encouraged to go wild, have fun and let their creative juices flow.

There is a Sensory Play area located by the entrance of Kaboodle too, where the little ones can play with items of varying textures like handmade play dough, dried pasta, puzzles and other table-top toys.  

It’s easy to see why families love visiting SuperPark, a Finland-based indoor playground featuring two levels of unlimited activities including popular ball games like SuperBall and BaseBall; interactive games like SuperHoop, SuperPinBall, and more. Notable highlights include the Pedal Car Track and Freestyle Hall, comprising an augmented climbing wall, a trampoline platform, and more.

Families with toddlers or preschoolers can visit the Kids’ Gym, featuring a tube slide, a small climbing wall and sliding mountains. This area is catered to children under 100cm.

Thinking of where to bring your kids for a great day out can prove to be a challenge especially if they have different interests and hobbies. If you’re not sure where to take them next, consider Impressions Kids Club, a newly opened 3,000 sq ft kids club, offering over 50 different activities.

Featuring five main areas: an indoor playground, a nature play zone, a sand play zone, a petite spa room and a glow-in-the-dark games room, the young ones can pick an area depending on the activities they prefer to indulge in. The indoor playground, comprising tube slides, a trampoline, obstacle courses, swings and a ball pit, is perfect for those who wish to slide, bounce, jump and run to their hearts content, while the games room is ideal for those who enjoy sports like billiards, table tennis, table football and air hockey.

At Waka Waka, a safari-themed indoor playground, kids can play at being Tarzan with their obstacle courses and high-element zone. While it’s a playground suitable for kids ranging from nine months to 12 years, there’s also an area that’s specially for toddlers – ball pits and sensory play included. Tickets start from $33. 

A huge hit with the kids and kidults since the late 80s, the iconic Nerf brand opens the 18,000-square-feet dedicated Nerf entertainment centre that encourages active learning and team bonding. Get your heart pumping at multiple indoor themed activity zones that test your agility and creativity through active play, teamwork and more. And if all that shooting and dodging flying pellets got you working up an appetite, refuel at the food and beverage areas. There are also retail stalls with exclusive Nerf merchandise for you to expand your arsenal.

Calling all NSmen – there's a new place to kick it with the fam. A colossal playground for the young and the young-at-heart, "Singapore’s First Smart Clubhouse" boasts the city's largest multi-installation indoor hub, and first indoor Player versus Player (PvP) airsoft arena. The little ones will love the indoor playground inspired by the Peranakan culture complete with a climbing slide tunnel, a sports pitch, a foam ball shooting arena, an interactive trampoline, a ball pit, and a ninja course – all designed to engage the senses.

Escape the hot and humid Singapore weather to experience the cold and snow at Snow City. Gather the family and dress up in matching winter gear – don't worry, these are available for rent – and stomp around in the snow. Slide down a 60-metre snow slope, take photos with life-sized snow sculptures in the artic playground, or get toasty in an igloo home. Older kids and kidults can head to the Winter Shooting Arena for a paintball session with a snowy spin. 

Play among nature at Jewel Changi Airport’s massive indoor wonderland. Weave through various mazes, bounce on nets, slide down an art sculpture, and admire the stunning views of the HSBC Rain Vortex and Shiseido Forest Valley from above a glass bridge. Alternatively, take a breather at a misty garden, snap a selfie with the many animal topiaries, and stop and smell the roses at a floral fantasia.

Arctic-themed playground Amazonia is oh-so-cool (see what we did there?). Kids can go down the city's highest indoor wave slide, jump around on the netted trampoline, and dive into the snowball pit (no actual snow included). There's also a massive 3,000-square-feet play-gym which features kid-friendly challenges for the active tykes. Babies, on the other hand, can enjoy themselves at the soft-play area, which is separated from the larger children's area and features a mini slide, ball pit, interactive play panels, and swings. 

Splish, splash, splosh with the little ones at this indoor water wonderland. And by little ones, we also mean that babies under 12 months get to enjoy free entry. The water playground stretches out to 23,000 square feet, with five slides and eight play decks that are all interconnected by climbing structures. Big buckets of water topple at random over a few areas, so expect most children to cluster around that splash pad to get dunked. For those with tots aged 18 to 36 months, head over to a separate wading area where water jets gently spray streams at you.

The concept here is simple: to stimulate children’s curiosity and imagination through – what else – art. The centre is divided into several zones, including a museum and workshop. But the highlight is the Art Playscape: in it, visual artist Sandra Lee constructs The Enchanted Tree House, a fantastical play area inspired by the pages of a children’s book. Her illustrations – of giant sea monsters, lush forests and imaginary creatures – literally spill onto the floors, walls and ceilings.

Bathed in bright hues that are bound to attract the tiny tots, The Polliwogs features bouncy trampolines, kid-friendly obstacle courses, ball pits and fun slides. Its state-of-the-art play equipment also allows easy bonding between parents and children. There's also a separate play area for younger children. Planning to have a birthday bash here? The Polliwogs also hosts parties where you can choose from a range of themed party packages, from laser tag parties for energetic kids to junior chef parties for aspiring cooks.

Take your kids on an artistic adventure at the museum's permanent exhibition, Future World – Where Art Meets Science. Together with digital art installations by teamLab, a trip here will light up your kids’ creative bulb where they can watch their 2D crayon creation transform into animations, create thrones out of colour-changing blocks, and go down an interactive slide.

There isn’t a moment of stillness at Bounce Singapore, where you can jump off walls and fly through the air. This addition to the trampoline scene has three areas designed for different interests and various levels of difficulty, so young tots, older teens, adults and even fitness enthusiasts are catered for. Got a pre-schooler in the house? Specifically designed for kids aged three to five, KinderGym is equipped with a safe, multi-sensory environment to give them their jumping fix.

This indoor and outdoor play space doesn't come cheap but it's popular for its interactive elements and well-designed spaces (this is the Shangri-La after all). The little ones will have a blast making their way through everything from a sandpit, to going down slides and climbing nets, getting lost in ball pits and mazes, playing outside in the free-form pool or water play zone, or living out their pirate dreams climbing the very realistic pirate ship structure.

They say everywhere can be a playground – that's certainly the case for Airzone, the world's first indoor suspended net playground. Occupying the mall atrium space between different floors in City Plaza Mall, be prepared to explore the multiple play areas where you can dive in a ball pit, crawl through a maze, climb to the top (it's six storeys high) and try out the slides or just hang out on the suspended nets.

Themed around the popular animated series, Tayo The Little Bus, this South Korean indoor play park makes its first international outpost in Downtown East. It's a whopping 10,000-square-feet space complete with a playground, a sensory play space, and a toddler area for younger children. The main star, however, is Tayo's Road Circuit where the kids can zip around in their mini manual rides and make a pit stop at the mini garage, car wash, and gas station.

This edutainment centre uses hands-on activities and facilities to introduce the wild world of science to those aged 18 months to eight. And, as you’d probably guess by now, gravity’s a big part of it. Enter The Big Dream Climber. This fantastical two-storey-high wall features elements plucked from the mind of the Mad Hatter: hanging doors, flying fish, giant gears and huge leaves greet kids at every corner. And if they manage to scale the wall, they’ll arrive at the Music Zone, where they can go nuts on drums and organs, constructed from PVC pipes.

For those in the dark, Pororo is an intrepid penguin (who dreams of flying) from a Korean cartoon – and this indoor theme park is dedicated to the character and his friends. Let your children run amok here: they can hop on an actual train with Eddy the fox as he takes you on a tour through the grounds, peek into Pororo’s icy home and dive into a ball pit. And while the big kids can climb and duck through jungle gyms, tinier tots have a dedicated toddler’s area with foam mats and soft toys.

Future high-flyers will be thrilled at the options available at this 4,200-square-foot transportation-themed playground. The main play area, best suited for older children up to 12, has tunnels, obstacles, suspension bridges, spiral tube slides and two trampolines for them to hop around amid cushioned walls emblazoned with decals of planes. The toddler area, meanwhile, has mini slides, a ball pit, foam blocks and larger-than-life, Lego-like stackable blocks designed to train motion coordination. Parents can either keep an eye on the kids from a distance, or, if you’re super chill, leave the nannying to the staff on the ground.

It's not too young to introduce art to the kids. The Artground in Goodman Arts Centre offers many art-centric and art-related programmes that help nurture creativity and curiosity in children aged 12 and under. Besides the actual playground aspect of it – think interactive art installations that the little ones can actually touch and climb – other activities kids can get involved in over the weekends are gardening, performing arts (music, dance and drama) as well as arts and craft activities.

Get amped at Singapore’s first indoor trampoline park, where an hour of non-stop jumping will have your kids sweating and burning energy – without you panting after them. With more than 5,000 sq ft of interconnected bouncing platforms, a foam pit and parkour walls, there’s no limit to the tricks the children can perform: back flips, splits and all kinds of crazy spins in the air. Just be sure to book a slot before you arrive.

For the parents with active toddlers, take a trip down to The Forum's Hip Kids Play, an indoor play area with a ball pit and a playground tower. The play area's equipment are low to the ground and the floor is made of padded mats to prevent any accidents or injuries from occurring. It only costs $5 for a one-time entry, but you can get some bang for your buck by signing up for their one-year membership, which costs $25.