I would like to introduce parents this place for a weekday/weekend family gathering or for physics tuition by the founder of F.L.Y. .

I am a mother of two and been pestered by my kids to go to Singapore Science Centre last March Holidays. Of course, tickets to enter Singapore Science Centre isn’t cheap and as a cost conscious mother, I will like them to learn as many things as possible that is worth that kind of money. My dilemma has been solved two weeks ago when I found a newspaper article regarding a place named Fun Learning Yard(F.LY.) situated at Mandai Orchid Garden. It offers science courses and also some mini art activities for children. This attracted me. Therefore, I brought my kids to F.L.Y. instead of the Singapore Science Centre. When I arrived with my kids, the staff welcome me with a smile and introduce me to F.L.Y. 

The staff also told me about a course on the physics topic "Force" that was going on and was suitable for my 15 years old son. It was an one and a half hour course costing S$30.00. My son was interested by the equipments that F.L.Y. have as it was different from what Singapore Science Centre has.

As my son is going through the Force Course, my 9 years old daughter was introduced to the S$2.00 Mini Art Activities and Mini Science Activities. There were many choices for my daughter to choose. After much consideration, she chose Rock Painting and Balancing Bird, and a staff brought her to the children area and guided her the steps required for the activities.

Having her taken care by a F.L.Y. instructor, I took a walk around Mandai Orchid Garden. It was a pleasant place with beautiful orchid scenary. After a stroll in the garden, I went back to F.L.Y. and was surprised by my daughter’s actions. She was sitting quietly by the children area and was engrossed in a book called, "WOW Stories" by Yipee. It was very unlike her sitting down and read a book quietly. I took a copy of the book to browse and realised why my daughter was so engrossed in that book. The book was full of morals stories with beautiful illustrations which captured my attention.

After that, I went to see how my son had progress. He was occupied by the equipments that F.L.Y. has. Every single equipment there relates to what he is studying now. As I was looking at my son, another staff came and presented me with a horseshoe puzzle. I had difficulty in solving the puzzle. The staff kindly reminded, "This puzzle seems impossible at first glance, but with perserverance and thinking out of the box, you will find out the true meaning of impossible is nothing." He showed me the methods to solve the puzzle which I followed and managed to solve it in a few seconds. After that puzzle, the staff gave me various type of puzzle to solve. After half and hour, my son showed me a magic trick he learned during the course, the Ring & Chain Magic. Thanks to the F.L.Y. Instructors, my kids had a great day. After the course, the staff brought us to the Hands On Area and showed us a variety of Educational Toys they sell. My daughter had fun playing the Pirates Hide and Seek board game while my son was engrossed in the board game named Pentago.

As they were busying playing with the board games, I went to have a look at the books F.L.Y. has on sale. Which was when I realised the author of the top seller Longman 1001 Physics MCQs for O-level was the founder of F.L.Y. . I browsed through the book and realised that the answer sheets included explanation for each question despite being MCQs questions. After spending 3 hours there, I asked my kids to choose the items they want. I went on to choose the WOW Stories series and the Longman 1001 Physics MCQs book for my kids. The items selling at F.L.Y. are cheaper than anywhere else I’ve been to, for example, the Pirates Hide and Seek is only S$12.00, compared to the S$20.00 I was willing to pay.

After purchasing my items, the cashier told me that there is a Physics Clinic going on every Thursday from 5pm to 7pm for students that require help for physics. I will definitely enrol my son as there are teaching aids available to enhance the students’ understanding.

To me, F.L.Y. is brings more value to the buck compared to the Singapore Science Centre. F.L.Y. is one-stop centre that carries a huge variety of novelty products combined with excellent customer service. I would definitely bring my kids over to F.L.Y. during the June holidays to participate in their various courses and activities.

I would definitely recommend parents to bring their children to F.L.Y. for Pratical Science Courses and Mini Art/Science Activities that F.L.Y. conducts.