Around KL ... KidZania

KidZania Kuala Lumpur is an indoor educational playground for children.  It's like a community where children ages 4-14 years old can play pretend or participate in the role-play depending on what establishment the child is in.  You can easily spot KidZania because it's the only building where a head of an Air Asia airplane comes out. 

We bought our tickets online to avoid temper flare on date of visit that might be due to fully booked slots and long ticket queue.  So we were there last August 30, 2013, a Friday and a day before a National Day.  There are 2 schedules per day which are the 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM.  We chose the first schedule.

We checked-in and received our boarding passes.

   You need to wear the tag at all times and it will be collected upon exit.  Up we went and passed through an Immigration counter before finally entering the KidZania world. 

A check worth 50 KidZos was given to Z.  There is a CIMB bank where children can exchange the check into KidZos money bills.  Below is a sample of the bills and 50 Kidzos is their initial pocket money.

Because I was overwhelmed with what I saw inside I got too excited for Z.  I hurried him up to go inside the Police Station, tried on the police uniform, got him inside the jail to experience and get the feel, and nyaiks! good thing we were not thrown into the jail.  I thought a child can just zoom in and do stuff.  No wonder the entrance was still dark because hello!  the place was still not officially opened hehehe.  Behind Z were the crew doing their welcome performance and only then KidZania world is ready for everyone.  

There are so many establishments to choose from and categorized accordingly -- Media, Private and Public Services, Construction, Food and Beverage and a lot more.  There are rules and pre-requisites before a child can participate in the role play. Examples:

1.  Z wanted to drive immediately but he wasn't allowed because he has to obtain a Driver's License.  The requirements were minimum height, pass eye test, purchase vehicle insurance and pay 10 Kidzos fee.

Z paid for the Eye Check-up then purchased an Insurance at Allianz.  

A temporary card was issued.  He got inside Honda, presented the Insurance, paid and took the driving test.  The test was a simulation, isn't it cool!  He passed and Driver's License was issued.

2. Each establishment has this Federal Information Bureau posted outside the room.  Each activity is a + or - meaning either the child pays or get paid.  

Okay, for the 1st board, Top squares:  

Capacity -- number of Kids required for the activity to commence

Duration -- how many minutes the activity lasts

Bottom squares:

Age suggested -- indicates the age of a child who can participate.  The first board says +4 years so below 4 years old is a no, no.

Economy -- pertains to wage he will be paid or the amount a child has to pay

Z chose to be a Pilot and another simulation.  To be a Pilot and First Officer Z earned 15 KidZos since he rendered his service.  If he chose to be a Flight Attendant he could earn 8 KidZos and earn nothing if he chose to be a passenger. 

As Zs' money depleted he had to work in order to earn and enjoy what he loves to do.  Isn't this what Adults do ☺? 

There are Zupervisors to guide the children.  Z became a Gasoline Station crew and a Mechanic.

Children can be Carpenters and Window Glass Cleaners and they earned afterwards.

Z went to Ayam brand's Cooking school.  He paid, took the lesson and brought home the prepared pizza and canned tuna below.

At Sushi King kids learn how to make simple sushi and bring home the finished products.  Want some actions then be a Secret Agent. 

Z experienced being a Researcher at Lifebouy's Health Institute and Pharmaniaga Citrex Vitamin Research Institute. They were taught the proper ways of hand washing and create liquid hand soap at Lifebuoy.  They used the machine for the Vitamin C and got to take home a bottle too.

He became a Cashier and such an impressive Cashier's Booth only the database was not updated.  There were items not listed causing failed transactions upon scan.  The Purchasers were so hyper!  They were running around with their pushcarts, screaming and disregarded their grocery lists ☺.  Of course, they just want to play inside the grocery shop.  Inside the shop were lots of real food products .. drooling ☺.

At Dell Notebook Factory.  Here kids become Junior Notebook Engineers.  They will install the RAM, Hard Disk, Optical Drive and Battery.  They then will encode their names for their Certificate of Achievement.  How's that?

As a Poslaju National Courier worker, either they will deliver packages or pick up packages from other companies.  It's a team effort because if not they will not receive their wage.  They can also be an Electrical Engineer or installer at Tenaga Nasional.

How your child wants to be for a day KidZania is the best place for him to experience them -- be a Doctor, Dentist, Banker, Fireman, Media personnel, Factory worker, Engineer, Mechanic, Judge, Investigator and etc and etc.  There is a hotel and when the needed number of kids are completed the hotel is set on fire.  Waaah!  The place becomes a lot noisy because of the firetruck's wailing siren.  It adds up to the noise created by everyone inside the place and an irritant sound as it recurs.  whew!

 There were still a lot of professions Z could have role played but as the clock ticks the number of kids inside KidZania grows a lot too.  It was a Friday but the place was very crowded and just imagine if it's a holiday and a Sat-Sun.  KidZania is also used by schools as a venue for Educational Tour.  There are food outlets but the choices are not that wide but enough to fill a hungry stomach.  There is  a plaza you can hang out.  There is a souvenir shop if you want to buy souvenir items like shirt, bag, mug, key chain and more.  Every company your child enters, an official photographer is there to do his job but not that consistent and not all kids too.  We had a hard time for Zs' case ouch!  If you want a souvenir print just visit the Sony Photo Lab, choose the picture you like, choose how you want it displayed (jigsaw, key chain, plain picture etc) and pay.  If payment is done, you'll be given an access code and you can download a soft copy.  

KidZania for me is a good place for Z.  It's pricey but it's worth his time, the experience and lesson(s) learned (did he learn? ☺ I hope so!).  The place is interactive, so many choices, impressive and so close to reality. Before we went home what's left is 70 KidZos.  He needs at least a 100 KidZos if he wants it exchanged with something at the Department Store.  We encouraged him to open a bank account at CIMB and deposit the 70 KidZos which he can withdraw on his next visit.  

Of course, along the way on those hours that we were with him waiting and following, we never fail to advise him (nag for me hehehe).  We explained to him that this is like the real world.  You work, you earn, you spend but you can't keep on spending because you also need to save.  He enjoyed driving and this is where he spent most of his money. We also coached him to get jobs with high paying rate but sometimes it was his interest that brought him to a job no matter what the pay was ☺.  Well, what is his brain for and at least he gets to practise "decision making" and learn his own way.  

KidZania is a franchise company and here's a Good news!  KidZania is coming to Manila this year!  It will be at Bonifacio Global City at least, it's not that far from Cebu unlike here or Tokyo.  For more information just visit www.kidzania.com.my or www.kidzania.com.