Go Local :: Singapore Heritage Playgrounds & Win a Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 #ProjectRESGIcons

This year we've made it one of our goals to visit a playground at least once a week with Lil Pumpkin. Since the boy and I are both working full-time, this usually happens on the weekends. Sometimes we'll go searching for a particular playground, but other times we'll just go about our usual weekend activities and hopefully stumble upon a gem of a playground. I'll be jotting down all the exciting, fun and sometimes even quirky {!!} playgrounds we visit on my weekly Singapore Playgrounds series.

As parents, hubby and I always believe that play is very important in Lil Pumpkin's childhood. It's not just a luxury she can have when she's "free", but a necessity for her to learn, grow and discover the world we live in. It's where her mind and spirit comes alive, and we see how imaginative she is!

Dinosaurs Playground at Kim Keat

So in a way, having a goal of visiting at least one playground a week was our way to making sure Lil Pumpkin has more play with us outdoors, but it was also another way of encouraging us to be a tourist in our own beautiful island, and go to places that we never seem to venture much into.

Watermelon Playground at Tampines

As part of Singapore's 50th birthday this year, I was recently invited to take up the #ProjectRESGIcons challenge with my Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 to REdiscover, REimagine and REcreate something with Singapore's icons that has helped to make it what it is today.

Since I'm so interested in our playgrounds nowadays, it made the most sense that I'll be choosing that as my theme to investigate more on its history and find out more for ourselves on what makes them iconic.

Mangosteen Playground at Tampines

Out of all the playgrounds we have, the ones that touch my heart most are the old, heritage playgrounds. They remind me of my carefree childhood days and these are memories I want to share with Lil Pumpkin too.

Designed mainly by Mr Khor Ean Ghee {former in-house designer of HDB}, these were built in the 1970s and 1980s for children to play safely, and to learn about local identity so you will see many designs like dragons, sampans {wooden boats} and even mangosteen fruits that are very unique to our local culture and history.

This cultural aspect is something I find lacking in most modern playgrounds, which is a shame since that's what makes them most meaningful and original to Singapore.

Dragon Playground at Ang Mo Kio

All of them are relatively simple with not many features that you see in a typical modern playground nowadays. They may be pretty static, but at least that leaves room for the kids to be imaginative and create their own stories for play. Sometimes I feel that the newer playgrounds have too many features for the kids to play around with that they end up running around like headless chickens not know what to do first!

Dragon Playground at Toa Payoh

Heard from the grapevine that eventually, only the Dragon playground at Toa Payoh will be kept and the rest will be demolished to keep up with our country's development. Not sure how true that is but looking at the way things from my childhood days are disappearing, there's no reason to wait around and find out and hopefully, we can finish visiting all the heritage playgrounds by June this year. As of now, there are around only 11 left.

I've never used Android systems before and was pretty scared that I won't be able to manage the new Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2. I guess that's pretty common for people who are used to Apple or i-whatever products :P However, I was pretty surprised that I got the hang of it very quickly. Maybe because Apple's recent iOS design, features and usability is somewhat similar to Android's.

One amazing thing that I really, really love about the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 is its long-lasting battery life. I'm not used to this kind of "luxury" on my electronic devices! :P We brought it out to try out its video and camera functions {more on that in a bit} at the Watermelon playground for a day and it was still going strong! It can last up to 18 hours and is so good it can even help to charge our other smartphones and tablets haha.

The long-lasting battery life is also awesome because with both 4G/LTE and wifi connectivity, that means I can blog pretty much anywhere, anytime and I don't need to worry about lugging around extra cords for charging it!

Versatile kickstand allows you to hold, tilt, stand & hang the unit

People tend to hold tablets differently when they do different things. With the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2, there's a good grip due to the cylindrical batteries {which is what gives it longer battery life} and I'm able to hold it ergonomically for better angles when reading up more on the playgrounds, tilt for easier browsing, let it stand without any additional backing when my hands were tired and hang it wherever I want - even at the back of our car seats to entertain Lil Pumpkin when we were stuck in a jam!! hehe

Playing with our DIY Watermelon Playground

As part of the challenge, I decided to recreate one of the heritage playgrounds into a doll-sized playground for Lil Pumpkin to play with at home. It's such a crazy idea since hello, it's not like we can just colour on a milk carton and call it a day. But, I wanted it to be as realistic for her as possible.

Thankfully I've got hubby who helped me to find an Android app on the tablet to help us come up with a template for the Watermelon playground structures.

Colouring time!

After printing, I got Lil Pumpkin to help cut and colour...

Family effort to make our DIY Watermelon Playground

Then hubby and I got down to constructing the actual miniature playground set, with help from our darling girl of course. This was a half-day family project that was pretty tough! But I'm glad we spent time to work on it together.

I might post a tutorial on this so keep a look-out ;)

Pretty similar to the real thing, right?? :P

Ta-dah!! Not too bad, right? Had to use the tablet to keep checking back with photos of the original Watermelon Playground to see that we got the colours, angles, shape etc. right. We even made the ground base look like the actual base with watermelon prints made with origami paper haha.

So. Much. Fun. Perfect for minifigs & other small dolls.

It's not done to scale and looks kinda amateurish but Lil Pumpkin is sooooo very pleased with it and that's all that matters, really :) It reminds her of that day we went to the original Watermelon Playground and she even wants us to make her other heritage playground models to play with!! *gulp*

I think it's the perfect size for minifigs, but any small doll would do.

Have a look at this video I made with some shots from the Lenovo Yoga 2 Tablet {obviously if you see photos with it then it's taken with another camera}. If the link isn't working, check it out on my YouTube channel here.

The tablet has a powerful 8 megapixel rear camera that lets you capture and share sharper photos and videos. Pretty useful if I'm outside blogging and I want to just take good quality photos without using any additional devices. The wide aperture lens also means more light can reach the camera sensor to take better photos in places with dim lighting.

Full HD screen & Dolby Audio speakers

Lil Pumpkin likes to watch the video I made on the tablet. The full HD screen makes it look so clear, and with the 2 front-facing Dolby Audio large chamber speakers, it's almost like watching it in the movies :P 

I had so much fun using the tablet for my #ProjectRESGIcons challenge that just for my readers and friends, I've ONE Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 10" {Android} worth S$599 to give away! I've listed some specs above, but see the full product information on the Lenovo Singapore website.

Giveaway Method: Random Draw

1. Be a Lenovo Singapore Facbook page fan

2. Be a Sakura Haruka Facebook page fan

3. Subscribe to my upcoming newsletter. Make sure the email add you used to subscribe is working as I'll be using that to contact the winner. Remember to confirm the subscription and check your junk folder in case the confirmation email goes there.

4. Like & Share this Facebook photo and tag a friend. Make sure your post is public!

5. Leave me a blog comment telling me which Singapore icon you want to rediscover with your kids & why + FB name you used to like the pages + name you used to subscribe to the newsletter. For those unsure of how to comment, choose "Name/URL" option then add your name and comment.

Bonus entry:
1. Follow me on Instagram {@AiSakuraHaruka}
2. Repost this photo on IG & tag @AiSakuraHaruka #ASHlenovoyogagiveaway #ProjectRESGIcons {please make sure your profile is public}

ONE random winner will be chosen. Just complete all 5 simple steps + bonus entry {if you like}!

Details:
* Open to Singapore residents only.
* Ends Sunday, 15 Feb 2015 2359hrs {Singapore time} 
* Incomplete or inappropriate entries will be deemed invalid and will not be included.
* Winner will be announced by Wednesday 18 Feb 2015 on this blog post and notified via email with further instructions on how to collect prize. Winner have 2 days to reply, or the prize will be redrawn.
* Sakura Haruka is not responsible for any prizes lost, damaged or misplaced in delivery.

UPDATE: The giveaway has ended. The winner is Lin Meibing Sarina. Stay tuned for more blog giveaways on Sakura Haruka! Check out my current readers promos too. Thanks for your support!

* Disclosure: This post is part of the Lenovo Singapore #ProjectRESGIcons campaign. Lenovo Yoga 2 10" Tablet was provided by Lenovo Singapore for giveaway. All opinions are my own.

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