Biodiversity in Singapore – Not Extinct!

July 17, 2013

When visitors to the festival were told by volunteers at the recent Biodiversity Festival, held at VivoCity Shopping Center from 13-14 July, that the animals they were looking at (in photographs or in jars!) were still alive and surviving in Singapore, many of them were awed speechless.

There was an overwhelming turn out at the two day event! It was a really neat idea to have this years festival in a shopping mall because this allows us to reach out to many people who wouldn’t otherwise learn or explore about nature in Singapore on their own! Last years event was held at the Botanical Gardens.

The Raffles Museum of Biodiversity brought their specimens to the event, and the volunteers, with their animated stories, brought the specimens to LIFE!

There was even a station with microscopes to let visitors have a look at microscopic life! It was a real hit with both kids and adults too!

Many could not resist reaching out to touch the exhibits! Which included everything from snails and seastars to pangolins and tigers!

Visitors got to learn about sea shore life, so that the next time they walk along the beach, they won’t just see sea shells, but can identify coral from snails and other shellfish!

Kwan Siong shared about mangroves in Singapore and some of the cool adaptations by mangrove plants to survive the challenging elements they are exposed to.

Others got to learn about animals in our forests that are shy, elusive, and rarely encountered.

President Tony Tan was a guest of honor at the event. Here’s Marcus Chua sharing stories about leopard cats with him!

Kids got a chance to try their hands at making some of Singapore’s wildlife out of paper and clay at the arts and craft station!

Some of the marine animals that emerged out of the clay!

Hantu Blog volunteer, Lam Peimin, shares about seashore life!

Kids get to learn about animals hiding in our coral reefs with the help of some cool games and Hantu Blog volunteer, Cindy Tan!

Sean Yap, with a beetle on his head, shared the magical world of ladybirds who live alongside us in our garden city.

Verona Huang, who’s also a volunteer with the Hantu Blog, taught young friends about the complex and fragile marine food chains and what we can do to protect our marine food resources.

Peiyan brought many laughs at the festival with the help of her dugong plushie, handmade by volunteers at the festival. She brought to life our mangroves and sandy shores!

There were games to help visitors learn about where our marine life live and shelter! This is important because we love to eat many of these marine animals, and knowing where they live helps us understand the need to protect their habitats!

Here’s the lovely Chay Hoon sharing facts about our shores. Ria Tan and James Kwan also blogged about this event!

This event was also extensively Tweeted live from the venue over two days. Read the Tweets and view many candid photos from the event here!

A big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped make this event possible! And thanks to all who made the visit to VivoCity over the weekend to share the fun and learning!

See more photos from this event at the Hantu Blog Gallery!

Posted in Events