Free fun with kids-Royal Selangor

Are you looking for something that is quintessential Malaysia? Maybe you are looking for a break from the heat of Malaysia and want to see and do something inside. Or if you’re a mom like me, you’re always looking for free fun places for kids. Let’s talk about Free fun with kids-Royal Selangor Visitor Center.

The Royal Selangor visitors center is great, an off the beaten path destination, in Kuala Lumpur to get a quintessential piece of Malaysian history. If you are looking for other tours to do in Kuala Lumpur that won’t break the bank, you can look here.

Who is the Royal Selangor

Before visiting the museum, I will admit, I didn’t know anything about Royal Selangor. I was totally clueless about everything they have to offer. And I was surprised by all the beautiful things they have created throughout history.

Royal Selangor pewter history

The Royal Selangor company is the world’s largest producer of pewter and pewter specialty collections. For those of us that don’t know much about Royal Selangor. The company has been around for over 100 years. They are well known for luxury designs of pewter arts, craftsmanship, and designs.

Besides having the royal family as clients, it has also been commissioned to make champagne accessories for Louis Voutan brands including Krug and Dom Perignon as well as trophies for Formula 1 tournaments, and PGA golf Champions. Royal Selangor also does exclusive designs for Disney, Marvel Comics, etc…

Practical Infomation~Royal Selangor Visitor Center

Opening Hours: Every day 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (including all public holidays)

Ticket prices: Free (the only thing that will cost money is the workshops and they are optional).

To reserve a workshop: Visit their website to reserve a time for a workshop. This is not necessary but it is recommended.

Visitor Center Address: 4, Jalan Usahawan 6, Setapak Jaya, 53300 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

How to get to the Royal Selangor Museum

If you have access to a car, this is the easiest way to get to the visitor center. It is easy to find if you put the address into Google Maps. Here are the GPS coordinates: 3.196, 101.724.

If you do not have a car, Royal Selangor does offer a free shuttle bus that will pick you up. You can arrange a pick up on their website here. If not, get a taxi, use the Grab app (Like Uber and Lyft).

You can also take the LRT (local train). The visitor center is located at the Wangsa Maju stop on the Kelana Jaya Line. You can plan your route on My Rapid’s website here. It is just a 5-minute walk from the station.

If you are coming from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here is how to first get into Central station, downtown Kuala Lumpur. From here it is a shorter ride.

Why should you visit the Royal Selangor Visitor Center

#1 It’s Free fun with kids-Royal Selangor

My favorite reason to visit this place is that it’s free. As a mom, I know how quickly ticket prices rack up when you have to multiply everything by 5. So, I am always looking for things to do with kids for free.

Beyond that, it really provides a great history of the company and Malaysia, specifically the Kuala Lumpur area.

This is educational and Free fun with kids-Royal Selangor for both adults and kids. It’s called a visitor center but it feels a lot more like a museum. So it’s great to be able to learn a lot while we visited.

#2 Air-conditioning is an added luxury

It’s air-conditioned! If you have ever been to Malaysia (or Southeast Asia) you know how hot the days are here. I don’t like any amount of heat, but Malaysia takes hot to a whole new level.

So I love going to Royal Selangor because it’s nice and cool inside. My kids can run a little bit and they love playing with hands-on exhibits.

It’s a great indoor place for kids and the best part is that we don’t have to sweat while we play!

#3 Watching the production in the warehouse

Another reason that I love this museum is that you can go to the factory (it’s attached to the museum) and see the actual production of the pewter designs happening right in front of you.

My kids love this part. They feel like they are breaking the rules by going into the factory. But it is part of the tour!

#4 Parking is easy and it’s also free!

If you have visited Kuala Lumpur, you know that most of the parking is in a parking garage that is housed under a mall. Then you have to take an escalator or wait for ages for an elevator before you are even at your destination.

This is such a pain with kids and honestly one of the reasons I don’t like going out with my kids.

But don’t worry, Royal Selangor makes it easy. They have a large visitor parking lot that I have never seen full. You just find a spot and walk right in.

#5 It’s stroller friendly

A lot of things to do in Malaysia with family involve stairs or long waits for elevators. But the Royal Selangor museum has made it all stroller friendly.

You are greeted with a long escalator that is a ramp and takes you to the second floor where the history and hands-on exhibits are located.

When are finished upstairs, you head down another ramp into the factory. All of the aisles are big and easy to navigate with a stroller. Making this one of the best things to do in Kuala Lumpur with a baby or toddler.

Do I need an appointment to visit?

When you arrive at the welcome desk, they will ask you if you have an appointment. You do not need an appointment or scheduled time to visit the visitor center.

You can schedule a time to make your own pewter designs but this is not necessary just to visit.

Self-guided tour vs tour guide

You can go on the guided tour or grab one of the self-guided tours with the audio guide headset.

We’ve done both, but I recommend the self-guided tour if you have young kids. Our 2-year-old made it difficult to pay attention to the guided tour and she likes to move at a different pace than the tour guide.

The self-guided tour is available in multiple languages including Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and English. The audio headsets walk you through the displays and automatically play when you arrive in a new area.

This makes it very easy and efficient to get through the museum at your own pace allowing you to spend more time at some exhibits and less at others.

Our kids loved wearing the headset and playing with “the phone” that comes with it. I think our 7-year-old spent more time playing with the phone than listening to the tour.

Making your own pewter products to take home

The visitor center offers two different options for working with pewter and trying your own designs. The 2 options are The School of Hard Knocks or The Foundry.

These two places do allow you to work with pewter and it’s lots of Free fun with kids-Royal Selangor. Well not free, but fun! There is a fee associated with both of these, but it gives you an idea of how to work with pewter and a nice souvenir that you created to take home with you.

For kids 15 and under: They offer the School of Hard Knocks for kids’ pewter experience. At The School of Hard Knocks, you and your kids will get to make a standard bowl and engrave your name on it. Our kids enjoyed this so much we have now come back twice to do this activity.

Important information for the School of Hard Knocks:

Cost: RM65.00 (around $16.00USD)
Time/Duration: 30 -45 minutes
Languages available: English, Mandarin, and Japanese

You take home the pewter bowl that you made, a special Hard Knocks apron, and a certificate of completion with your name on it.

The Foundry for teens and adults

If you are traveling in Kuala Lumpur with older kids and need something a little more challenging, take a look at the working with Pewter at the Foundry.

In the Foundry, you will get to work with hot liquid pewter to create your own craft with one of the many molds. First, you will pick your design mold. Then you will cast the pewter. After you will begin to polish and shine the pewter craft, and lastly you will decorate it.

It’s an awesome experience to work with the melted pewter and create something of your own. I would definitely recommend doing this with older kids.

Important information about The Foundry:

Cost: RM180.00 (around $45.00USD)
Time/Duration: 60 -90 minutes
Language options: English and Mandarin
**Note only 15 years of age and older will be allowed to participate in this workshop.

Top 6 things to see at the Selangor Visitors Center

#6 – The replica of the Petronas Towers

Made from over 7,000 Tankards. These towers start on the 1st floor and extend up to the second floor. Checking in at over 9 meters (29 feet).

#5 – Make Music in the Chamber of Chimes

The Chamber of Chimes is a kid’s dream and a parent’s worst nightmare. Allowing kids to have drum sticks and to tap different pewter cups to hear the different sounds, tones, and pitches can give any parent a headache.

But the kids loved it and could have spent more time here if I hadn’t developed a massive headache that came on out of nowhere 🙂 Really this spot was a lot of Free fun with kids-Royal Selangor and even I enjoyed it for a bit.

#4 The Show Room

Although, this is the last part of the tour and the last thing you visit, it is in our top 5 things to see. Be careful, your free tour might end up costing you more than you originally thought when you started. But you can still have Free fun with kids-Royal Selangor even if you don’t buy anything and it’s not required.

Here you can find the Royal Selangor Collectable and other items for daily life. Did you know that if you drink out of a pewter cup, it can help to keep your drink hot or cold?

Although drinking out of pewter has steines or tankar have been around for hundreds of years, the use of pewter has caught back on in the water bottle screen.

Many people are now using an insulated bottle with pewter for their morning cup of coffee or to keep their water ice cold throughout the day.

Besides the Royal Selangor Brand, don’t miss out one the prestigious silver brand of Comyns. This brand has been around since 1645 as a world leader in silver. Comyns is renowned for its fine silverware and interpretive works from the UK and made by prestigious English silversmiths.

#3 – Check out how much you weigh

The visitor center offers a Science and Discovery Gallery that the kids enjoyed exploring. Here you discover the unique properties and application of pewter. Then you test your weight against that pewter anvil.

We were able to get the entire family on the scale and it barely got the scale to move.

#2 – Watch and try your hand at the pewter-making-process

Three of the four stages of the hands-on process you can try for your self. The first and the only one you cannot try due to the pewter being liquid hot. It is the handle casting and making

1st step is to add hot liquid pewter to the handle cast.

2nd step is shaping and shaving of the pewter.

3rd step is polishing and making everything smooth.

4th step is designing the piece. In this video, the crafter is using the hand knocking pattern for these beautiful cups.

#1 – See the world’s largest and Guinness Book of World Records Pewter Tankar

See the world’s largest and Guinness Book of World Records Pewter Tankar. This is the largest beer stein that I have ever seen. Made in 1985 to commemorate its centenary.

This huge tankard now sits at the entrance to the visitor center, but it hasn’t always sat in this place. It has traveled around the world to places such as Canada, Australia, Singapore, and China before returning to its home in Kuala Lumpur.

It weighs 1, 557 kg (3,432 pounds) and holds 2,796 liters (738 gallons). Yes, it can hold a lot of beer. It also makes a great Instagram spot 🙂

Royal Selangor Visitor Center Cafe

I love food! Anyone who knows me knows I can only go about 2 hours without eating. So the fact that this museum has a cafe moves it up on my list of favorite places.

The cafe is conveniently located right outside the showroom. They serve breakfast and lunch. They thankfully offer lots of western options for food (my kids are not keen on new foods).

Make sure to check out the daily special, it’s a great deal at only 26RM ($6) for a meal and drink. The cafe also has wifi so it’s a great place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee too.

What is the best time to visit the Royal Selangor Visitor Center?

The visitor center is open every day from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (they are open on all public holidays).

In my opinion, the best time to visit the visitor center is around 10:00 am. This way you miss the morning traffic on your drive there but you also beat the crowds at the visitor center.

You will most likely spend about 2 hours (including the workshops) touring the visitor center. So if you start at 10, you will wrap up your tour just in time for lunch at their cafe.

Your kids will love the Royal Selangor Museum

Parents and kids will love this museum, add it to your list while you’re in Kuala Lumpur and you won’t be disappointed!

If you plan on being in Kuala Lumpur for a few days and are looking for other free things to do with your kids. A great place to visit is Batu Caves. You can find out how to get there and what to do while you are there here.

Some other great ideas to do with kids in Kuala Lumpur is to visit the Mini Zoo and the KL Eco Park and canopy walk. These are not free but for a small fee, they can experience walking in a Rain Forest, and petting and seeing some exotic animals. We recommend checking Klook for individual tours of Kuala Lumpur.