A cardboard box can hide a fox
and possibly a bear.
A ball of string’s the perfect the thing
to tangle here and there.
Paperclips hung in a strip
can decorate a room.
Rubber bands on hands expand
and twist or flick and zoom.
Paper sheets with folds and pleats
can loop de loop the sun.
And drinking straws can draw for sure
blow ink and see it run.
This week is Children’s Week in Australia. It’s an annual event established around 17 years ago. I can’t say that I have ever paid much attention to it. Officially designated occasions come and go, often getting lost in a sort of designed by a committee nothingness. In this instance, the idea that the week ‘celebrates the right of children to enjoy childhood’ struck a chord. Isn’t that right a given? The thought that kids would have to fight for the right to a childhood is reason enough for this week to exist. Kids + play = happy = learning = good outcomes for all. It’s not hard to do the maths.
We were in a taxi on Singapore’s Sentosa Island as heavy rain was easing. We had come to visit a theme park which I was told by our driver was not actually on the island. Convincing him it was, he continued to drive us around in circles, muttering to himself, before confirming with a toll gate officer that I was definitely wrong, the park was miles away, and definitely not on the island! Lost and wondering what to do next, a glance at the island map displayed the perfect destination, Port of Lost Wonder.
On an island chock-full of destinations designed to empty your pocket quicker then you can say ‘Are we having fun yet?’, Port of Lost Wonder makes for a refreshing change. Aimed squarely at the under 12s, a modest $8 entry fee gets a child through the gate and adults join them for free. Cheery staff in striped,
pirate-inspired uniforms hand a hessian pouch containing a gold coin (used to purchase treats inside), and a Port of Lost Wonder passport to each child.
A giant pirate ship stands as the dramatic centre-piece. A clutter of slides, hoses, buckets and guns protrude from all angles, and gush, spray and dump water in a perpetual downpour of outrageous fun. Here is a theme park well-conceived, imaginative, instantly gratifying. Should the trade winds blow you to Sentosa, a wonderful time awaits at Port of Lost Wonder.
bakersmith 