COMO Adventure Grove at Singapore Botanic Gardens’ Gallop Extension is a wonderful nature playgarden for children. This family-friendly section of Singapore Botanic Gardens is filled with play elements which draw inspiration from the Gardens’s greenery including a large weeping fig tree, the seeds of saga trees and the tropical cempedak fruit.
The COMO Adventure Grove playground at the Gallop Extension is surrounded by with lush greenery. It is all part of its biophilic design which draws on nature and aims to give back to it.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens playground provides plenty of fun opportunities for kids to explore and reconnect with nature through play. Just getting to COMO Adventure Grove is a bit of an adventure as you have to make your way through a narrow, winding path that finally opens up into the playground area.
COMO Adventure Grove Playground
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The COMO Adventure Grove has three main sections. These are:
- The Weeping Fig
- The Saga Seeds
- The Chempadak
The Weeping Fig Tower
The centerpiece of the Singapore Botanic Gardens playground is a Weeping Fig Tower.
Tree climbing is emblematic of carefree, childhood days. While opportunities for such activities may seem fewer in Singapore, many kids will now be able to make new memories climbing about the COMO Adventure Grove’s tree-inspired play structure.
The 5.8-metre tall Weeping Fig spreads its “branches” far and wide in the middle of a big sandpit. The tree’s trunk and branches are made of steel but they have been hand-textured to look like the bark of a tree. This makes it look as if the playground is almost sprouting out from the ground.
There are ample opportunities for kids to swing, slide and climb around the “aerial roots” of the playground.
There are plenty of “aerial roots” in the form of climbing ropes and props hanging off the branches of the Weeping Fig. Kids will be able to enjoy the climbing ropes, hammocks and more.
Kids will have plenty of fun at the Singapore Botanic Gardens playground’s swings, nets and hammocks. These are interspersed amongst natural plants, bushes and shrubbery at the base of the play structure.
Kids can also climb to the top of the Weeping Fig tower to take in the views of the flora at the surrounding Gallop Extension.
There are two long tube slides – one that is 11 metres long and another that is 6 metres long. They provide plenty of speedy fun for kids, allowing them to exit out of the tree tower and back into at speed.
Saga Seeds Play Area
One of the tube slides leads down to an interesting play feature of the COMO Adventure Grove, a nature-inspired play area that appears to be littered with several unusual looking red objects.
This is one of the most striking features at the COMO Adventure Grove playground: the bright red, super-sized saga seeds “scattered” around the sandy ground.
While we may have played with the regular-sized versions of the saga seeds, these are simply enormous.
Alongside them are green “saga seed pods” which kids can climb on.
This is a great sand play area for kids and families. Bring along some sand tools and settle down for sand play. There are also some seat close by and the trees provide some shade from the sun as well.
You can also find more about information about saga seeds at a close-by signboard.
Don’t forget to pay a visit to the grove of saga trees close to the Forest Discovery Centre. It even provides information on where you can find saga trees in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Did you know that you can also find another saga seed-inspired playground beyond the Singapore Botanic Garden? It is located up in the north of Singapore. Find out where you can find the saga seed playground.
Giant Cempedak
The other tube slide leads to a giant cempedak fruit. It is about 100 times the usual size of the fruit.
A cempedak is a fruit found mostly in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. It’s similar in appearance to a jackfruit but with slightly different flavour.
The fruit can grow up to 30 cm long. However, this giant cempedak at COMO Adventure Grove is much larger in size!
Kids can climb about its thorny surface to practice their coordination while they hold on to its bumpy skin. It a fun to play in a hands-on fashion.
Old Hornbill Nest
If you are planning a visit to COMO Adventure Grove, you can also pay a visit to an old hornbill nest. This can be found slightly beyond the saga seeds area.
Hornbills typically nest in the cavity of a large tree. It has unique nesting behaviour. The female hornbill will lay one or two eggs and then the male hornbill, which remains on the outside of the tree, will work with the female inside the nest to seal it up with the female and her eggs inside.
It would then fall on the male hornbill to provide for the female inside the nest while the female focuses on incubating the eggs.
How to Get to COMO Adventure Grove
COMO Adventure Grove is a wonderful place for kids and families to reconnect with nature and a welcomed companion to the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden. It provides a chance for kids to get outdoor and be introduced to nature early through play.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens COMO Adventure Grove playground is located at the Gallop Extension. It can be found on the opposite side of Tyersall Avenue from the National Orchid Garden and the Learning Forest.
To reach the COMO Adventure Grove, from the entrance of Gallop Extension, follow the signboards, take the path that leads inwards past the OCBC Arboretum and you will reach it. It can also be found to the rear of the Botanical Art Gallery and the Forest Discovery Centre.
To soak in even more of nature, be sure to explore and enjoy the paths around the COMO Adventure Grove nature playgarden. You can view an old hornbill’s nest nearby. Pay a visit to the Gallop Valley or take a walk along the Mingxin Foundation’s Rambler’s Ridge. Pay a visit to the Forest Discovery Centre and Botanical Art Gallery too.
