Science Centre Singapore tickets: Glowing Oceans, when to go

Science Centre Singapore tickets are cheapest for Singapore citizens and PRs on an off-peak weekday, when general admission is free with an NRIC. From Tuesday 3 November 2026 the centre adds Glowing Oceans, a walk-in lagoon of living bioluminescent plankton, sold with admission from S$7 off-peak or S$12 at peak for a local adult. The catch is timing: from 21 November the school holidays make every day peak, so the cheapest dates are the twelve Tuesdays to Fridays between 3 and 20 November.

What is Glowing Oceans, and who is it for?

Glowing Oceans is a dark, purpose-built gallery where live dinoflagellates, microscopic plankton that give off blue light when disturbed, glow as you move through the water. Science Centre calls it Asia's first full-scale living bioluminescence exhibition; on Singapore's own shores, it notes, city lights usually wash out the occasional glowing bloom. There are four parts:

• The lagoon: you pull booties over your shoes and wade through shallow water that lights up with each step.
• Touch tables: you swirl the water by hand and watch the plankton respond.
• Dimitri's Desk and Darwin's Cove: a mock researcher's office with holographic deep-sea creatures, and an animated story of Charles Darwin meeting glowing plankton aboard HMS Beagle.

Allow 45 to 60 minutes. The centre says the species on show are non-toxic and are not harmed by visitors. There are ramps and wide entrances, but the lagoon is not suitable for every wheelchair, the dark, enclosed rooms will not suit everyone, and people with sensitive skin on their hands or feet are asked to think twice.

How much are Science Centre Singapore tickets in November and December?

These are the prices Science Centre listed on 30 October 2026. Local rates need an NRIC as proof of Singapore citizenship or permanent residence. Tickets are sold online or at the onsite kiosks only, and cash is not accepted.

• General admission, locals: free off-peak; S$6 for an adult and S$4 for a child or senior (60 and above) at peak.
• General admission, standard rate: S$12 for an adult or senior and S$8 for a child, any day.
• Glowing Oceans with admission, locals: S$7 for every age off-peak; S$12 adult and S$10 child or senior at peak.
• Glowing Oceans with admission, standard: S$18 adult and S$14 child or senior.
• Super Glow Bundle (Glowing Oceans, the ONE Ocean exhibition and admission), locals: S$20 adult and S$15 child or senior off-peak; S$23 and S$18 at peak. Standard: S$30 and S$24.
• Admission with an Omni-Theatre film, locals: S$8 each off-peak; at peak S$12 for an adult and S$10 for a child (3 to 12) or senior.

Off-peak, admission is free for locals, so the S$7 is in effect the price of Glowing Oceans. By the same arithmetic (ours, from the listed prices), the bundle charges a local adult S$13 more off-peak and S$11 more at peak for ONE Ocean, a ten-zone immersive exhibition drawn from the Tara Ocean Foundation's expeditions. Its free-roaming virtual reality ride costs extra and is recommended from age 9.

Which days are off-peak before the school holidays?

The centre is shut on most Mondays, so from Glowing Oceans' opening until the school holidays the off-peak days are Tuesdays to Fridays:

1. 3 to 6 November: opening week.
2. 10 to 13 November: KidsSTOP, the children's gallery, is closed for private events on the mornings of 10 and 11 November (10am to 1pm), according to its family page.
3. 17 to 20 November: KidsSTOP is closed on the morning of 19 November.

Deepavali is on Sunday 8 November. MOM's holiday list says Monday 9 November is a public holiday for people whose rest day falls on 8 November; MOE's calendar also lists it as a public holiday. Science Centre's pages do not say whether the centre opens that Monday, so check the ticketing site.

From Saturday 21 November to Thursday 31 December every day is peak, and New Year's Day (Friday 1 January 2027) is peak as a public holiday. During the school holidays the centre also opens on Mondays, at peak prices. Science Centre's pages do not say whether it opens, or keeps its usual hours, on Christmas Day or New Year's Day.

A worked example: one family, two dates

Illustrative, with an invented family: two parents and two children aged 7 and 10, all Singapore citizens, using the prices above.

• Glowing Oceans on Wednesday 18 November (off-peak): 4 × S$7 = S$28, with the main galleries included.
• The same visit on Saturday 28 November (peak): 2 × S$12 + 2 × S$10 = S$44, or S$16 more.
• Adding ONE Ocean with the Super Glow Bundle: 2 × S$20 + 2 × S$15 = S$70 off-peak, against 2 × S$23 + 2 × S$18 = S$82 at peak.
• A grandparent visiting from overseas, aged 65: the standard Glowing Oceans ticket for a senior is S$14 on either date.

A 3-year-old is too young for Glowing Oceans, so a family with one may need to split up, with an adult taking the younger child to KidsSTOP. Sharing the bill with another family? Our group cost calculator works out each household's share.

What should you wear and bring to Glowing Oceans?

Most of the exhibition's rules matter before you leave home:

• Wear flat, closed-toe shoes, not slippers, sandals or heels. Booties in general adult and child sizes are handed out at the entrance and must be returned.
• Wear clothes you can roll up, and bring a small towel for your hands.
• Skip lotion and sunscreen on your hands and arms, and take off bracelets, anklets and necklaces. Everyone washes their hands with soap at the entrance.
• Leave strollers, wagons, tripods and umbrellas in the pay-per-use lockers near the Main Entrance or The Annexe.
• No flash photography, and no food or drink inside. No sitting, lying or swimming in the water.
• Arrive about 15 minutes before your session for check-in.

Can you combine it with the Omni-Theatre, KidsSTOP or stargazing?

Science Centre says most visitors spend about four hours there, and advises booking KidsSTOP and Omni-Theatre slots ahead because both sell out at weekends and in the school holidays. KidsSTOP, for children aged 8 and below, needs its own ticket, runs sessions from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm, and admits children only with an adult aged 18 or over.

For an evening outing, the Observatory runs public stargazing sessions every Friday unless stated otherwise, from 7.30pm to 10pm, starting with a planetarium show in the Omni-Theatre, for ages 5 and above. The smaller Stargazer Experience, a telescope lesson for ages 7 and above, is on Friday 13 November. Both depend on the weather, and there is no refund or alternative activity if it is poor; on 30 October the page said the Observatory was closed that day because of haze. The programme page does not list prices, so we could not confirm them.

To get there, the getting here page says to take the MRT to Jurong East (East-West and North-South Lines), then bus 66 or 335, or walk about 8 minutes via Exit D towards Westgate.

For more holiday outings, see our guides to Studio Ghibli exhibition tickets, Mandai's year-end prices and an indoor Plan B for haze or rain, or the going-out topic page.

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