7.2.12 - Drawing a circle with a compass

I was doing some decluttering and cleaning out my drawers and the boys came across this compass that I used when I was in secondary school. E started to play with it, so I pondered whether to take it away from him (It's sharp) or to teach him how to use it properly.

I decided to trust him and go with the latter. I taught him to draw circles with it. After several tries, he could  do it on his own.

7.2.12 - Da Vinci Exhibition

We went to the Da Vinci Exhibition in The Mines Exhibition Centre. It was Thaipusam and thus, a public holiday. My friends preferred to go on a weekday, as they had expected it to be packed with people on a public holiday.

However, when we were there, the place was so quiet. There was hardly anyone around. We bought our tickets, RM28 for adult and RM15 for children 4 years and above. It cost RM71 for the 4 of us. No photography was allowed inside.

A few other families trickled in after us. Although it was a small place and there weren't many models as I had expected, my boys enjoyed themselves there. They liked looking at the various invention and played with those that were allowed to be handled (manipulated). The visit took us less than an hour.

After that, we walked over to The Mines for lunch. We tried to find the connecting bridge that connected MIECC with The Mines. However, as there was no one around inside that area of the building, we felt that it was unsafe to proceed that way. We turned back to exit the MIECC building and walk across to The Mines from the car park area. After lunch, we visited the Splash Park. Unfortunately, a part of the park (pic below) was closed for maintenance work. Thus, the boys only played on the slides. They didn't want to play in the shallow wading pool as they preferred a deeper pool.

Pity this was closed for maintenance that day

As we walked out to the car park, we found that it was raining. I followed the GPS to find my way home and it brought us back via a longer way. I wish it could be programmed to return using the way we came from earlier. 

The exhibition opened their eyes somewhat and exposed them to inventions. When we got back, S drew some of his inventions and created his own inventions with his lego toys. (Whether it works or not, it doesn't matter. Even Leornado Da Vinci invented things which didn't work.) Since then, S has come up with new inventions, not just car designs. 

6.2.12 - Lego creations

After several days of "Lego fasting" at their grandparent's house, the boys were itching to get back home and work on their lego creations. S named their creations, majority of them had number 81 in it. I don't know what fascinates him about that number.

81 gunner and 81 fighter

Close up of 81 gunner

S made this "81 police robot". E taught him how to make those legs, which can move to the side and make it look like as though it is spreading out its legs.

Mighty army tank

Supersonic Roll Star. S said that this could fly up.

Speed roader

"Supersonic Ironman"  made by S

It can move its arms 360 degrees

"Wall E" made by E

6.2.12 - Bee Muzium Melaka

We made another visit to the Bee Museum in Melaka to get our supply of honey. It's rather difficult to find this brand of honey in KL. I found that the propolis honey was good for my children cough. Now, they drink honey religiously every day.

We also went around to look at the models of bees and their nests 

5.2.12 - At the playground

We went to the playground in the evening.

It's been a long time since I last saw a wooden slide. This wooden slide reminded me of the one my dad made for us, when I was 5 years old. 

I like the fluffy clouds

No problem with this 'balancing beam', it's broad. 

Counting seeds

Counting

He pretends it's a sword. It's rather hard and quite painful when  it accidentally knocked at me. 

They found this starfruit on the ground. 

Back at grandpa's house, they had a tea party for the toys. 

5.2.12 - Submarine Museum, Melaka

On the way back from the beach, we drove along the coastal road back to Melaka town. We decided to visit the Submarine Museum which were passing by on the way back. It was located at Dataran 1Malaysia, Pantai Klebang. It was formerly the Klebang Beach which has now been reclaimed.

We had to drive on this sandy reclaimed area. Surprisingly, the terrain was rather bumpy. The boys were so excited, they thought that we were at a desert!  See the submarine in the distance? We parked the car and opened the door. The wind was so strong!


This is the decommissioned Augusta 70 class submarine named SMD Quessant. It is an electric-diesel warship made in France. 

Entrance was RM1 for adult. I read that it was charged RM3 when they first started. My boys got in free. 

The front of the submarine.

We had thought that we could go inside the submarine, but  no,  it wasn't allowed. S said, "This isn't a museum!" 

Outdoor exhibition

Underneath the submarine.

Submarine Museum, Melaka
Address: Dataran 1Malaysia, Klebang, 75200 Melaka
GPS Coordinate: N 2.213988, E 102.198461

5.2.12 - Pengkalan Balak Beach

We wanted to go to Tg. Bidara beach, but the sign led us to Terendak Camp, so we made a U-turn and went to Pengkalan Balak Beach in Masjid Tanah. It was about 35 km from Melaka town, but it took us an hour, as it we had to drive through the countryside.

Of all the places, they love the beach the most. Maybe it's because it's a sensory activity and they can be hands-on when they play with sand and water. They were in a world of their own,  pretending they were operating an excavator, dump truck, bulldozer, etc. Never mind that the excavator has lost its wheels years ago and the toy vehicles are not battery operated. 

Operating the digger and bulldozer

Excavator 

Pouring sand into the dump truck

The beach sand is dark brown and quite rough

The Banana Boat ride. When the rider on the jetski wants to bring the people back , he would make a sharp turn as he approaches the beach and they all fall into the water. 

When I first saw this 'pacat' (leech) on the sand, wriggling and writhing, I thought I was just imagining and that it was just a worm. I didn't know that they can also be found at the beach, which has salty water. I thought leech were afraid of salt or would die if they touched salt. Our doubts were confirmed when we soon found another 3 more - hubby found one on his shirt, and I found one on the mat we were sitting on. They must have come from the tree were were sitting under.