Wednesday Wander: Jurong Frog Farm

Our Nature Inquiry co-op have been exploring various farms this month. One of the farms we visited was the Jurong Frog Farm (Do note that the farm is in Kranji, and not in Jurong!). We signed up for a tour of the farm, and I must say that it was probably the most interesting tour we've done so far! The tour cost $8 pax for individuals above 2 years of age, and started off with an introduction to frogs in general, and the history of the farm (which they kindly cut short for us since we had young kids):

The kids were taught about the different parts of the frog, and learnt how to differentiate the male and female frogs. They were also given time to hold the frogs, and many of the kids (and even mums) bravely took up that challenge. 

The children were given containers of food pellets to feed the frogs. They also had a chance to take a look at the various stages of the life cycle of the frog, as there were stations with tanks containing frogs in various developmental stages that were set up for another school group that was visiting. 

Then finally, after holding, feeding and observing frogs, everyone got to eat frogs! We all got to chomp on some crispy fried pieces of frog meat, as well as try some hashima (the frogs' fallopian tubes, which are boiled with sugar and considered a delicacy). 

It was a most interesting tour, and kudos goes to the staff (which interestingly seem to be made up of predominantly young females) for making the visit such a hands-on trip for the kids. The staff were able to really engage with the kids, and it was great that the kids got to experience the farm through all their senses.

The farm also sells various merchandise and also stocks frog and other exotic meat (crocodile meat, anyone?), fish, as well as hashima and snow jelly. For those who would like to bring home some tadpoles, they also sell tadpole kits. These cost $12 and consist of a tank with four tadpoles, as well as a box of food pellets. But do note, these are American bullfrogs, so the tadpoles are huge! Also, as these are not native to Singapore, you should not be releasing them into the wild after the tadpoles have grown into frogs. We split a kit with one of our friends, so the boys have been excitedly peering at their tadpoles everyday!