Defence Collective Festival 2026, Singapore Discovery Centre and the Navy and Air Force museums

A free weekend of bridge building, first aid and pedal-car traffic duty, with a shuttle from Boon Lay.

The Defence Collective Festival is one weekend when the Singapore Discovery Centre, the Singapore Navy Museum and the Singapore Air Force Museum all put on free hands-on activities at once. It runs on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November 2026, 10am to 6pm, and this is its second year. Entry is free with online registration; an optional Premium: Exclusive Passport costs S$10, is valid at all three museums on both days and is non-refundable.

At the Singapore Discovery Centre on Upper Jurong Road, the free list is long: Buddy Aid and Casualty Relay, where you learn to patch up a buddy and carry them to safety; Bridge Building, where a team builds its way across; Signal Relay, Decode and Deduce and a Mini Tactical Challenge obstacle course; Dream City Builder, City Mise en Scène and a community art wall; and SDCity, where children under 12 play responders and citizens keeping a neighbourhood safe. Schools, polytechnics and community groups perform on the festival stage on both days. The passport adds a stamp booklet, a tote bag you customise with patches from each museum, and passport-only activities that include the SDC gallery experience, target-lane shooting, gel-blaster battles, drone flying and a human claw machine.

The organiser says the festival is open to all ages, children under 5 must be with an adult, and some activities suit only children 12 and under. It estimates about two hours for an average visit. A free shuttle runs hourly from the Jurong Point drop-off at Boon Lay MRT from 9.45am (last bus 4.45pm), about 15 minutes each way, returning from 10.30am to 6.30pm; shuttles also run to the Navy Museum from Expo MRT and from Our Tampines Hub.

Why it matters: these are museums most families visit once, on a school trip. For one weekend they become a free activity day with a stage and a shuttle, and it lands on the last weekend before the school term ends on 20 November.

Our advice: pick one museum rather than chasing stamps across the island; the Discovery Centre has the longest free list and the easiest shuttle. Go at 10am on Saturday, register before you leave home, and buy the S$10 passport only if your children are old enough for the gel blasters and drones. Defence Collective Singapore’s site currently carries a haze advisory restricting outdoor activities, so check it on the morning. More ideas for the weekend are on our weekend guide.

Good to know Singapore Discovery Centre, 510 Upper Jurong Road, Singapore 638365; also Singapore Navy Museum and Singapore Air Force Museum. Sat 14 and Sun 15 November 2026, 10am–6pm. Free entry with online registration; Premium: Exclusive Passport S$10 (valid at all three museums, non-refundable). Under-5s must be accompanied; some activities for 12 and under only. Free shuttle hourly from Jurong Point (Boon Lay MRT), 9.45am–4.45pm; shuttles to the Navy Museum from Expo MRT and Our Tampines Hub.

Defence Collective Festival 2026, Singapore Discovery Centre and the Navy and Air Force museums | Singapore Discovery Centre, 510 Upper Jurong Road, Singapore 638365 | Nearest MRT: Boon Lay (free shuttle from Jurong Point)