How time flies! We’ve already reached December, the month filled with festivities and new year preparations. Stay tuned for the exciting family-friendly techtivities we’ve prepared for you to make your December even more meaningful! 

Let’s start off with December’s #TechFact, which answers the question: What are the applications of coding/programming?

Find out more about its many broad benefits in the infographic below! 😉

Source: Our very own Coding Lab Educators!

From Robotics, Artificial Intelligence to Web/App Development, there’s no doubt that coding/programming has enabled us to achieve many advancements in technology!

Now that we’re all warmed up, keep scrolling to discover techtivities that you and your family can indulge in this month! ✨

Wild About Twilight 2021: A Pangolin’s Tale 

In this Walking Trail by Mandai Night Safari, your little techie can reinforce what they’ve learnt about Augmented Reality (AR) into real life! Together with Berani (which translates to ‘brave’ in Malay), a Sunda pangolin, you can discover hidden AR animals and learn how you can play a part in fighting against their extinction! 

Visitors need to download the Animal Quest app and complete the challenges in order to find where the AR animals are located. It certainly is an exciting digital experience for the whole family! 

Details:

Includes: A fun Virtual Reality (VR) journey through the world’s first nocturnal wildlife park

When: 28 October - 31 December 2021

Where: Mandai Night Safari

Price: $32.40 for children, $47.70 for adults, $22 for senior citizens

Learn more here.

Nature Walks with Young Nautilus

Every young techie deserves a good day out in nature every once in a while. They can even go a step further and become mini Marine Scientists for a day! 

As Marine Scientists, they get to explore Singapore’s nature biodiversity, discover the mysteries of the squid in a dissection class and keep our coastal areas clean with a beach cleanup! We are sure that with awesome adventures like these, your aspiring little coder will become even more familiar with STEM and grow into eco-conscious techies.

Details:

Includes: A one-of-a-kind experience of being a young Marine Scientist for a day!

When: Selected dates from 5 November - 26 December 2021

Where: Multiple locations

Who: 6 years old and above

Price: $172 for “1 Child + 1 Adult” Promo / $89 for adults / $87 for children

Learn more here.

Brickosaurs World at Singapore Zoo and River Wonders

Apart from meeting the newly born zebra foal and giant panda, visitors have another reason to visit the Singapore Zoo and Mandai River: there are more than 60 life-sized dinosaurs (made out of roughly 1.5 million bricks!) 

Brickosaurs World is sure to catch your little one’s attention as they discover all about these magnificent creatures. They’ll learn more about animals at the brink of extinction, and the importance of conserving the wildlife and biodiversity of today! There are also 8 exciting workshops that your little techie can participate in, like using their crafty hands to dig up T-Rex bones and also put their thinking caps on as they find their way out of an a-maze-ing race! 

Details:

Includes: Showcase of more than 60 life-sized dinosaurs

When: 13 November 2021 - 3 May 2022

Where: Singapore Zoo and River Wonders

Price: Free with admission into Singapore Zoo and River Wonders

Learn more here.

Coding Bytes: Space Blast

The latest addition to our Coding Bytes series is Space Blast, our first-ever App Inventor tutorial! In this step-by-step tutorial, Tutor Luke teaches us how to program a fun game in space! In the game, you’ll have to navigate a fast rocket through space to reach Mars. 🚀 As the rocket has finite fuel and the distance is far, players have to collect power-ups to top-up fuel and avoid asteroids that decrease the rocket’s health! 🔋

Added your own twist to the program? We'd love to see it! Tag us @codinglabasia on Facebook or Instagram and stand a chance to be featured! 😉 Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel too to get notified on our latest videos. 

Click to watch the video.

Details:

Includes: Engaging, fun and quick tutorials on Scratch and App Inventor programming

Watch the series here.

End the year well with our Year-End Coding Camps

Celebrate the end of another fruitful year with us in our Year-End Coding Camps! 🥳 If your little one is between the ages of 4 to 18, we’ve got exciting workshops specially for them to get the best start in coding! You can sign up and join in the fun here.

We assure you that your child will be in safe hands with us - safe distancing measures will be put in place at all times and you can even opt for Online classes anytime. If you have any queries, feel free to drop us an email, call us or WhatsApp us to get in touch! 

Details:

Date: 20 November - 31 December 2021

Location: Online, Parkway Parade, Bukit Timah (KAP Mall)

Price: $401.52

For more information, click here.

This month’s tech news is about the use of robots in Singapore - specifically 5 of them! So the next time you go out to explore Singapore, keep a lookout for these 5 robots:

1. Safe distancing ambassador O-R3 at Bedok and Pandan Reservoir 

2. Coronavirus-zapping Sunburst UV bot at Northpoint City 

3. PAL, Decathlon Singapore’s inventory whiz

4. Cleaning robots Yi-Wei and Ella at Jewel and National Gallery Singapore / Alexandra Hospital

5. Rapid Automated Volume Enhancer (RAVE)'s speedy coronavirus testing

If you haven’t seen our previous techtivity recommendations, check out our November #TechtivitiesOfTheMonth, which includes more cool tech-related activities you can do with friends and family!

(Written by Zulaikha)