Kids enjoy the outdoors during school holidays

Nothing to fear: Jia Xuan and brother Min Hao playing with a thorny stick insect at Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm in Teluk Bahang while their mother and father look on. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star

GEORGE TOWN: It’s the outdoors for many school kids during the month-long school holidays. A check at Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm found many children enjoying their holidays with their families at the biggest green wall in the country.

Spotted at the Entopia Green Wall were Damon Soo and his stepbrother Kayden Lim, playfully trying to get different types of butterflies on their hands.

The green wall consists of more than 80,000 planting pockets and has been recognised as the biggest green wall in Malaysia by the Malaysia Book of Records in 2017.

Damon, nine, said it was the first time he and Lim, seven, visited Entopia and both were equally excited.

“At first, I was scared but when I slowly overcame my fear, I got closer to the beautiful butterflies,” said Damon.

He said he was happy that his father brought them to Entopia to experience the activities there which he could share with his friends when school reopens in mid-March.

“Instead of just staying at home and playing on smartphones or tablets, it is good for us to spend our school holidays taking part in outdoor activities,” he said.

His father Winsen Soo, 32, said he brought his children to Entopia to be closer to nature and not just be glued to smartphones and playing games.

“I want them to be healthy and to let them know what being with nature is all about so that they can be physically and mentally healthy,” he said.

Soo, a businessman, said it was also an opportunity for him to be closer with his children as weekend was the only time he was free.

Muhd Darwish Mohd Fadzizul, 14, from Selama, Perak, was spotted guessing the name of butterflies at the garden with his older brother Muhd Afif Mohd Fadzizul, 19, and cousin Iman Humayra Hasmadi, 16.

Muhd Darwish, who was visiting Entopia for the first time with his family, said he found it to be fun and informative.

“I like animals and the outdoors. I hope I can come here again next holiday,” he said.

He said Penang was a must-visit destination for him and his family every school holiday and among the spots they would usually visit were the Teluk Bahang National Park and the Escape Theme Park.

Siblings Liw Jia Xuan, 11, and Liw Min Hao, nine, were seen exploring several types of insect at Entopia’s Bug Section.

Both of them were excited to learn how the Thorny Stick (Aretaon asperrimus), a wood-like insect, lives in the wilderness.

“It really looks like a stick but in fact, it is an insect,” Jia Xuan said.

She also said the insect did not bite and was not afraid of humans.

The siblings, who study at SJK(C) Choong Hwa in Gurun, Kedah, were accompanied by their mother Lai Chiew Fui , 39, a teacher and their engineer father Liw Han Wei, 40.