SingaporeMotherhood | Family Fun
March 2018
i Light Marina Bay 2018: 12 Light Art Installations the Kids Will Love
There’s so much happening at i Light Marina Bay 2018, so we’ve helped you narrow it down. Here are 12 of the must-see light art installations that families with children should make a beeline for
As you probably know by now, i Light Marina Bay 2018 is getting ready to illuminate our iconic downtown precinct starting from 7.30pm tomorrow evening. To bring you this update, we previewed the light art installations that have sprouted up around the Marina Bay Waterfront. Our verdict? The sixth edition of Asia’s leading sustainable light art festival looks set to be bigger and flashier than ever before.
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Do you and your family love making music and grooving to the beat? Perhaps learning about science and environmental sustainability gets you all excited and fired up. Or you simply enjoy spending quality time being enchanted by glowing lights together. Whatever the reason, don’t miss these especially kid-friendly light art installations at i Light Marina Bay 2018.
(See also: i Light Marina Bay 2018: 4 Festival Hubs Feature Brilliant Family-friendly Activities)
Installations that Resonate with Budding Musicians
1. Octopoda by amigo & amigo (Australia)
This is definitely one of our favourites. Imagine a steampunked giant octopus featuring eight tentacle drums. Little aspiring drummers can become part of this animated tentacle percussion ensemble by beating on them. Watch Octopoda’s musical mind come to life with fascinating displays of colours and lights. Get all eight drums playing together, and Octopoda will dazzle audiences with his mechanical moves and rhythmic light display!
Where In front of Marina Bay Event Square (#8 on map)
2. Light Play by School of Art, Design and Media, NTU (Singapore)
Artist impression of Light Play, School of Art, Design and Media, NTU
Shine the light from your mobile phones at this series of light tubes and watch as patterns change. At the same time, they emit relaxing musical notes like those made by traditional Chinese wind instruments. The kids moving around the Light Play installation can do exactly that – play with light! In fact, Light Play is a simple reminder for even adults to loosen up and get in touch with the child in them.
Where Waterfront Promenade Lower Boardwalk (#12 on map)
3. illumaphonium by Michael Davis (UK)
Standing at over 3.5 metres tall, the illumaphonium is a multiplayer musical instrument that invites you and your little ones to have some fun. Made up of over a hundred illuminated chime bars, each responds to touch for a spontaneous music-making experience. You and every musician playing at that moment will be immersed in hypnotic patterns of sound, rhythm, light and colour.
Where Esplanade Park (#19 on map)
4. The Butterfly Effect by Tenzin Chan & Team (Singapore)
Only by working together can mankind help protect the environment, but it all begins with individual effort. Work with your children by beating the drums to activate the lights in the field. Then watch in wonder as The Butterfly Effect creates ripples across the field of lights. The lesson to take away is that individual actions can indeed lead to much bigger changes.
Where Esplanade Park (#21 on map)
(See also: Art-Zoo 2018: Have Fun Bouncing at this Inflatable Park @ i Light Marina Bay)
Installations to Engage Curious Young Minds
5. Urban Rice Fields by Raffles College of Higher Education (Singapore)
For a highly Instagrammable photo op, walk amid the graceful, undulating bamboo rods in Urban Rice Fields. The interactive lighting installation is inspired by Singapore’s development of an urban habitat that embraces the natural environment. Most kids in Singapore never have the chance to see real rice paddies, so visit Urban Rice Fields instead!
Where Esplanade Park (#2 on map)
6. Transistable Plastic by Luzinterruptus (Spain)
Ever wondered how much plastic waste we create every day? Step inside Transistable Plastic and find out how it feels to be submerged in it. Transistable Plastic is made using plastic vacuum bags filled with all kinds of coloured plastic containers and LED lights. Once all the air is sucked out, the panels are attached together. You’ll have to rotate the panels to find your way out of this maze of plastic waste.
Where Under Esplanade Bridge (#3 on map)
7. Cradle2Cradle by William Kwan & Kenny Chia, DP Design (Singapore)
Let the kids get the spheres swinging and watch what happens. A kinetic-light installation that blurs the boundary between science and art, Cradle2Cradle is inspired by Newton’s Cradle. Illuminating upon impact as energy is transferred from sphere to sphere, the interaction results in a mesmerising display of light and logic. Through this, the little ones learn about momentum and energy conservation too.
Where Esplanade Waterfront (#5 on map)
8. Flawless by Studio ALEX – Architectural Lighting Experience (Italy & The Netherlands)
During the day, the pigments in this leafy installation absorb UV energy from the sun. As night falls, the magic happens as they give off a bright green glow. It’s great for primary school kids who are learning about photosynthesis to witness this visual interpretation of the phenomenon. Self-sufficient and self-illuminated, Flawless uses photoluminescence, the movement of shedding leaves and its reflection to demonstrate how our natural environment works.
Where Esplanade Park (#22 on map)
(See also: March School Holidays 2018: 26 Super-Fun Activities for Kids to Enjoy)
Installations to Get Little Feet Grooving
9. Dancing Grass by Yuree Hong & Siyoung Kim (South Korea)
Allow kids’ imaginations to run wild in this larger-than-life grass field. They can touch, feel and even hug the giant blades of ‘grass’! Reflecting the diversity of Singapore’s population living in harmony, Dancing Grass is made up of 180 blades in differing heights. Some stand up straight, others wobble in the wind, yet others create fun teetering effects when pushed. Be part of this glowing dancing green!
Where Esplanade Park (#1 on map)
10. Starlight by School of Art, Design and Media, NTU (Singapore)
Singapore is arguably the most light-polluted country in the world, and we seldom get to see stars in the sky. The constant exposure to artificial light at night also seems to rob us of healthy sleep in true privacy. Starlight brings the light back from the stars, right in the heart of our well-lit city. Get closer to it and see if you can create a brighter constellation of stars!
Where Esplanade Waterfront (#4 on map)
11. Passage by Serge Maheu (Canada)
As we travel through life, rushing from place to place, we transition through both time and space. As you walk − or run, jump, skip or dance − through Passage, the lights and sounds in the tunnel react and strobe along with you. Different configurations create different atmospheres, each evoking different emotions. Passage also references the portal between life and death in a personal, sensorial, yet playful manner.
Where Waterfront Promenade Lower Boardwalk (#10 on map)
12. Chandelier of Spirits by Living Spirits (Thailand)
So much of the workforce that contribute to Singapore’s success use coffee as a boost throughout the work day. Aptly made up of donated used cold brew coffee bottles filled with lights, Chandelier of Spirits lights up the city after sundown, just as coffee ignites our energy reserves in the daytime. Psst…it’s activated by overhead sensors. So gather around it, because the larger the crowd, the brighter it shines and the faster it flashes. It might even sing!
Where Breeze shelters along Marina Boulevard (#14 on map)
(See also: 12 i Light Marina Bay 2017 Installations That Will Make Your Kids Go “WOW!”)
i Light Marina Bay 2018
When 9 March to 1 April 2018 | Sundays to Thursdays: 7.30pm – 11pm; Fridays & Saturdays: 7.30pm – midnight
Where Around the Marina Bay waterfront and Esplanade Park
Web www.ilightmarinabay.sg
Admission Free
Header image: Evergreen by Limelight (Hungary)
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