The Botanic Gardens is one of our favorite places to go in Singapore. It’s not only a fun way to burn off that toddler energy, but it is also free! Yes, you read correctly FREE!  It’s easy to get to by MRT and with lot’s of available outdoor parking.  Just slap on a mosquito patch and grab a bottle of water and you are ready to go. Now that you have made it to the garden with kids in tow, what’s there to do? The Botanic Gardens is divided into many sections and although the entire garden is connected make sure you have a plan in mind before you park your car/taxi. We like to enter the garden from the Jacob Ballas parking lot.   Sometimes we ride scooters (i.e. Mommy carries the scooter when not in use), kick around a ball or have a mini-picnic with the snacks in my Mommy-pack (yes, Mommy always carries a backpack full of snacks and all kinds of other fun items). The most exciting activity for my three year old son is to collect sticks, snails, rocks, millipedes and other really dirty things.  I usually carry a big plastic bag for him to “collect” things as we walk through the garden.  Another thing we do is feed the ducks, turtles and fish, which are all swimming around in the lake.  We usually bring some stale bread from home, or if Mommy forgets, then we use an organic snack from the Mommy-pack.  Even the ducks (and pigeons) think the over-priced toddler snacks are yummy.. Once we are done with the normal garden we head over to the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden.  At the entrance of Jacob Ballas is the “Kidz Café”,   which is a small restaurant that caters to kids with small tables and chairs.  They have a minimal menu, but they do serve ice-cream for only $2.50 a scoop (much cheaper than an outing to Ben & Jerry’s).  We usually don’t stop for ice-cream because “Mommy doesn’t have any money”, but if daddy is around then any sugary treat is within a teardrops reach. Once inside the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden, there is a lot to see and do! We usually walk over the suspension bridge, check out the water fall, throw rocks in the pond, slide down the orange slide and play in the sand.  On our more adventurous days, Mommy brings some swim trunks in the Mommy-pack, and the boys have some splashing fun in the mini-water park. As the sun starts to set, we drag our tired feet (or Mommy, with her super Mommy muscles, carries her little monkeys) to the car and we are ready to head home with big appetites for dinner. What other activities can you think of to do at the Botanic Gardens?