We took the kids to University! The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum is located on the grounds of the National University of Singapore and showcases flora and fauna of Southeast Asia.

Ms.E was asking to visit a "dinosaur museum" and the LKCNH Museum has 3 giant diplodocid sauropod fossils. They're the largest and heaviest of the dinosaurs.

The highlight for the kids was the trip there - we sat on the second level of the double decker bus. The museum itself was a bit of a flop with them. There were moments of interest: deciding on their favorite bird specimen, counting the number of seashells with polka dots, following the drawing prompt upstairs. Ultimately it was better suited for the adults, and age 3 and up has to pay for admittance.

Jonathan and I had plenty of moments of awe. It was a little scary to see some of the animals that live here abouts. Jonathan chose to bring my attention to the wall showcase of local scorpions. That Salt Water Crocodile is huge, and there is a crab in Japan that is larger than any of my children.  I assumed a number of the larger specimens were extinct at first and was shocked to realize they were recent additions and still out there in this great big world. All the examples of a species were grouped into one showcase so you could see all the different adaptations. Ms.E and I talked a lot about similar and different, big and small.  

The drawing prompt was spectacular and tied very well into our visit to the National Museum of Singapore last week. There we had talked about how Faquart had drawings commissioned of the local flora and fauna so that people today know what Singapore was like back then.

Below is the History Museum's prompt. It looked simple at first, but I had a lot of questions when I tried it myself. What a lovely way to highlight the importance of through descriptions. What does your Tenok look like?

We took ourselves to the food court in "University Town," because studying is hungry work! I've never been disappointed with University/College food, and I was not here either. There were so many amazing and cheap food option just in this one food court, even Western Food.

The food court was just past Subway and a five minute walk from the Museum. The Museum front desk gave us directions. They said take the bus one stop, but we walked. Taking the bus one stop is extremely common in Singapore; I just do not see the point.

Jonathan convinced Ms.C to try his favorite - steamed soup dumplings. The soup is in the dumpling. They're a little tricky: either pop the whole dumpling in your mouth (and they are not small) or take a little bite while balancing it over a spoon to catch your drips, next slurp the soup out of the dumpling, then pop the rest of it into your mouth. Unsurprising Ms.C loved them. She'd already eaten her sweet and sour chicken, but Jonathan bought another order of soup dumplings for her.

We got the Littles a burger and fries to share. I forgot to specify "well done," so not much of the burger was touched. Ms.E ate some of my white rice and then asked to try the Green Thai Curry sauce with it. She said, "This is sooo good. I  love this!" and I leapt from the table and bought her her own giant bowl ($5).  Seriously leapt - I was afraid she would change her mind before I got back with it.

I was hoping to get dessert. I'd seen Mango Sticky Rice - Brown sugary syrup poured over specially cooked rice, topped it with a bit of coconut milk and fresh mango slices Delicious. But after eating my lunch and some more of the second order, I couldn't find room for it. Sadly, the next day I'm still thinking about that missed dessert. I should have bought one for Take Away.

Instead Jonathan grabbed me a Bubble Tea. He likes his sweet, but I like mine to taste more like tea. I had Lychee Oolong with Aloe Vera and Bubbles. The Aloe Vera comes in tiny pieces. There were little pieces of lychee cut up in it too. The bubbles are mildly sweet and chewy. The bubbles and other pieces floating around in the bottom few inches of the tall plastic cup. There's a larger straw and as you drink you get a few bubbles in your mouth to chew. I find this whole eating with your drink thing rather odd, but I'm still buying the occasional one. This Oolong one was my favorite so far.