The March school holidays have arrived.

For parents who are running out of ideas of where to bring your children to play, here's a new place to take note of.

Newest nature playgarden in Singapore opens

The National Parks Board (NParks) announced on Mar. 13 the opening of the newest nature playgarden in Singapore, located at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

This play area is part of the new features opened at the 8-hectare Gallop Extension of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Known as the COMO Adventure Grove, the playgarden is inspired by the distinctive parts of the trees found within the Gardens.

These include a giant Cempedak (Artocarpus integer) where children can scramble over its warty surface, large-sized pod and seeds of a Saga tree (Adenanthera pavonina) that the children can roll and hop around.

There are also some rope elements, slides and swings that are designed to resemble the aerial roots of the Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina).

This way, children can connect with nature through play and exploration, as well as develop a sense of adventure and discovery at the playgarden, NParks said.

After expending all their energy at the play area, one can also look forward to grab a bite at Bee's Knees.

The family-friendly garden cafe will be opening a "Bee's Knees petite" outlet at Gallop Extension in end-March.

Other places where you can explore in the vicinity include two newly opened galleries housed in black-and-white conserved buildings, as well as the Mingxin Foundation Rambler's Ridge and the OCBC Arboretum that were opened to the public in 2019.

If you are thinking about making a trip down to visit these new features at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, do not forget to keep a safe distance from other visitors.

There will be limits to the number of visitors allowed in each area due to Safe Management Measures so here's a useful website where you can check the real-time crowd level before stepping out of your house.

Top photo by NParks