I am guessing you are probably thinking, “What in the world is HAN?”.
Do not worry. That was what I thought to myself the last time I visited the first two HANs, HAN@Katong-Joo Chiat and HAN@Clementi. HAN stands for Heritage Activation Node. It is a NHB initiative to work with community groups to bring heritage projects to life. In essence, it is to share about a neighbourhood’s history, culture and heritage.
I know what you are thinking, “Punggol got history, culture and heritage meh?”
Trust me. That was the first thing that came to my mind too! When I was in my schooling years, Punggol was not what it is today. Heck, we did not even have the current Sengkang. Punggol Park was, and probably is, the park located around the 400 series of flats in Hougang. That is far off from what we currently know as Punggol Central.
I remember telling my friend that we should explore the forests in Punggol.
“Siao ah! Later kena attacked by wild boars!”
That was how I remember Punggol… and that was how many perceived it. That was in the 1990s. It is not like that anymore today.
HAN@Punggol is located at Punggol Waterway Point. It is located at the Cove. This is at B2 at Waterway Point.
There is an art installation titled Colours on Shore. This installation attempts to recreate Punggol Beach. You know what is the fun part? Kids, and probably adults, get to paint on just about anything!
It was a Friday. It was the 6th of June and Little Big Red Dot got an invite to attend a media preview of HAN@Punggol. So I went! 
Here are the events that are happening this June.
The installation was relatively large. It took up most of the space at The Cove.
This was the situation on Friday. I would like to see how it looks about a week or so later. 
Kids are given raincoats to protect their clothes from the paint.
This is the paint buffet counter. You come here to get the paint to paint on just about anything. Mainly the beanbags and the walls but even the floor made an interesting canvas for the children who were there!
Haywire…
Ok back to the media briefing.
We got to learn more about what the installation is about.
Mr Gerald Wee, the director (education and community outreach) at NHB, kicked off the session with a brief explanation of the HAN projects and the motivation for HAN@Punggol.
Mr Alan Oei, the artistic director of OH! Open House gave an explanation of the art installation.
I got to learn that OH! Open House does art installations, sort of, in people’s homes. That is for another blog post once I learn more about that.
Before I butcher what OH! Open House is trying to achieve, I think it would serve me better to share their website with details of HAN@Punggol.
https://ohopenhouse.org/Heritage-Activation-Node-at-Punggol
Can I just say that I am always for preserving heritage. I have remarked on countless occasions that Singapore’s progress means that we are constantly losing important parts of our heritage as we persistently modernise. I applaud NHB and OH! Open House for coming up with this initiative.
Parents, this is your chance to let your kids run free and paint everywhere… do not miss this opportunity.
Seriously the raincoat acts more like a prop to the kids.
Even adults got in on the act!
Obviously some kid painted his or her foot to create this print. Just be careful not to stain your socks too much! 
The raincoats are disinfected after use.
CNA was there to interview Mr Wee.
Here is a list of what is happening this June.
Ok that I did not know. So there was a zoo in Punggol. Maybe my friend was not exxagerating when he said I could have been attacked by wild boars if I visited Punggol.
Anyone knew about the Punggol zoo?
Parents, what are you waiting for?
Your one chance to let your child get paint everywhere!
Yours sincerely,
Daryl
