Fun With Kids: Rainbow Centre’s art fund-raiser, Dian Xiao Er’s kids meal, book on maritime industry

SINGAPORE – Make family time all the more special with these ideas and activities.

Take part in Rainbow Centre’s art fund-raiser

Take your kids to Curio, an art exhibition showcasing 45 works by budding teen artists from social service agency Rainbow Centre’s Artability.

The talent art development programme grooms students aged 15 to 18 with autism and multiple disabilities, who have shown exceptional artistic talent at an advanced level.

Rainbow Centre hopes that the showcase becomes a starting point for more people to look beyond disabilities.

The exhibition runs until Oct 12 at Objectifs Chapel Gallery in Middle Road. Admission is free.

You can also form a group of at least six people to join a guided tour led by a student artist and/or an art trainer from Oct 7 to 11. Kids should be at least seven years old to take part.

The 90-minute session, which includes a hands-on activity, costs $20 a person. The money will go towards funding Rainbow Centre’s services, such as special student care for low resource families.

Sign up at bit.ly/curiolearningjourneys or find out more at rainbowcentre.org.sg/curio2024

Tuck into new kids’ offerings at Dian Xiao Er

Home-grown Chinese restaurant chain Dian Xiao Er, known for its herbal roast duck, has added a new option to its kids’ meal menu.

Young foodies aged three to 10 can now order the Q tofu with minced pork set, cooked in a tomato-based sauce.

Existing options, introduced in October 2023, are the shrimp omelette set and steamed fish set.

Priced at $9.90++, every kids’ meal includes a side of vegetables, brown and white rice combo, fruit and soya beancurd served on a yellow silicone rubber ducky plate. Until Oct 31, it comes with a limited-edition rainbow DD.Duck toy too.

The restaurant has also introduced a birthday special for children. Inform the staff that it is a celebration for your child and they will put up party banners to liven up the atmosphere. Your little prince or princess gets a paper crown and a DIY Birthday DD.Duck toy as well.

For the full list of outlets, go to dianxiaoer.com.sg

Read Secrets Of Singapore: Mission Maritime

From social studies and history lessons in schools, your kids have learnt that Singapore started out as a small fishing village that gradually gained prominence as a port of call.

But there is much more to the dynamic maritime industry that they should discover, says Singapore Maritime Foundation’s executive director Tan Beng Tee.

She encourages children and teens to read the new Secrets Of Singapore: Mission Maritime book, written by Angele Lee and illustrated by Alan Bay. It is a joint project by the foundation and local publisher Epigram Books.

The fun book, written in a breezy style, introduces readers to the maritime industry which plays an important but invisible role in everyone’s lives. For instance, Ms Tan notes that more than 80 per cent of goods, from clothes to food to medications, are transported by sea.

“Ships and ports tell only one part of the story. The success of shipping must be attributed to our unsung heroes – the professionals who drive maritime operations behind-the-scenes across sea to shore,” says Ms Tan, who also hopes the book will inspire the young generation to join the industry.

As author Lee quips in the book: “Just tell your parents that you want to be a docktor – they probably wouldn’t protest.”

Buy the book for $14.90 at Epigram Books’ online shop at str.sg/yg6n and major bookstores.