If you’re looking to give your child an insight into adult working life as their playtime, here’s your chance.
KidZania Singapore, now open at Sentosa’s Palawan beach, offers your child the opportunity to role play as working adults and gain an understanding of how they may want to contribute to society when they grow up.
It has 60 role-playing activities in a kid-sized city that allows children, between the ages of 4 to 17, to work in a hospital, police station or F&B outlet.
The activities aim to help children decide at an early age which profession would be best suited for them.
Every KidZania revolves around the concept of role play for kids but they all have different characteristics that differentiate them. This is largely due to the different sponsors each KidZania has depending on its location.
In Singapore, some local sponsors include Killiney Kopitiam, Kiss92, and Singapore Civil Defence Force.
AsiaOne, KidZania
William Edwards, chief executive officer for KidZania said, “We learn from the sponsors here and incorporate what we learn into the design of the city, therefore making every KidZania a different KidZania”.
He told AsiaOne at the launch event on April 12, that it is extremely important that KidZania’s industry partners bring localised characteristics to their own parks.
This is so that the kids going to the different KidZanias have something new to look at, and are able to participate in other activities that they may not see in their own local cities.
For now, there are plans for Kidzania to expand to India, South Korea, and Vietnam in the near future.
Singapore is predicted to be the flagship in the region for KidZania since it is a hot spot for tourists.
It is also expected to receive more attention since it is about 20 per cent bigger than other KidZania parks – at 7,600 sq m or equivalent to six Olympic-sized swimming pools – and has many unique features such as flight simulators and a museum.
Safety is also one of the top priorities for KidZania. Families and children stepping into KidZania Singapore will be issued wrist tags to ensure that children do not leave the premises unknowingly as the maximum capacity for the premises at any one time is 1,500 people.
Safety features such as specially designed doors are also incorporated into the park’s design to ensure a safe and child-friendly experience.
“There was a very high demand in Singapore from parents asking for these kinds of places where their children are able to role play and yet stay safe at the same time,” said Xavier Lopez Ancona, president and chief executive officer of Kidzania.
“What we have basically done is to take role-playing and make it more sophisticated for children to play and experiment with,” added Mr Lopez.
KidZania Singapore operates seven days a week, with tickets ranging from $25 to $58.
ryanho@sph.com.sg
