Children have always loved roleplaying, and now they are going to have the chance to imitate the grown-up world for real with the opening of the Bangkok franchise of edutainment theme park KidZania at Siam Paragon.

Themed as a child-sized replica of a real city, KidZania allows the youngsters to use real equipment and costumes as they try their hands at being doctors, vets, firefighters, stock traders and TV newscasters.

Founded in Mexico back in 1999, KidZania now has franchises in more than 11 countries. With an investment of 760 million baht ($28 million), the Thailand branch at Siam Paragon will be the largest site in Asia and the third largest in the world. The kidsized city will cover 10,000 square meters and come complete with streets, buildings, utilities and vehicles offering children aged four to 14 years more than 80 jobs to check out.

Prior to the grand opening, Bangkok KidZania took the media to Japan to visit the two kiddie cities in Tokyo and in Koshien, which is 20 minutes by train from Osaka and was the first to open outside Mexico.

Tokyo’s KidZania attracts between 800,00 and 900,000 youngsters a year; Koshien slightly fewer.

Children entering KidZania clear the airport and immediately become members of the nation of KidZania, a “country” where the CEO is governor. Each child receives a bank account, an ATM card, a wallet and a check for 50 KidZos, the park’s currency. At the park’s bank, which is staffed by adult tellers, children can withdraw or deposit the money they’ve earned through completing activities ― and the account remains even when they go home at the end of the day, one of the efforts that goes into turning the children into repeat visitors. The park is also set in twilight time, which KidZania Bangkok’s Scott Charles Schubert explains replicates the evening hours when kids normally play outside and don’t want to come home for dinner.

Children choose the career they are interested in and head to the relevant replica career building (called “establishments”) where supervisors take care of them. Parents or chaperones are not allowed in the establishments and can’t manipulate or interfere while the little ones are busy with activities, though they are allowed to take photographs from the outside.

“Kids get a real sense of achievement when they take home a bottle of their own cola from the bottling of cola drinks establishment, or the sushi they make at the sushi establishment,” says Edwin Nomura, the KidZania ambassador of KidZania Japan and South Korea.

Each establishment is sponsored and branded by leading international and local brands. In Thailand, at least 22 partners have entered into agreements with the franchise. AirAsia is bringing a real cockpit and passenger seats for would-be flight attendants and pilots while McDonald’s is sponsoring the hamburger establishment, QHouse is the construction establishment and BQuik is training young mechanics.

Children also don authentic uniforms and are rewarded for some of their labor in kidZos, which they can deposit in the bank and earn interest or spend in the department store. And just like in the real world, things don’t come cheap. Goodies at the store have marked-up retail prices and youngsters need to cough up serious kidZos for driving lessons before they can take their test.

Culturally, children clearly reflect the behavior of the adults. In Japan, where the grown-ups work hard and have discipline in saving, the young Kidzanians do the same. They work in establishments and spend less, depositing their kidZos in the bank, where they can get interest. In Mexico, says Schubert, children tend to spend all the kidZos they receive when they come in and have zero left when they go home.

Thai youngsters are likely to be the same as the Mexicans though the wise ones will quickly learn that once they’ve spent the original 50 kidZos, they the only way to get more is to earn it. Borrowing from mum or dad is not allowed.

“A daughter of my friend saved a lot of kidZos money from working in KidZania for a year. At first she wanted to use the money to buy a telescope but finally she went round the department store and bought stuff for her mum. She told her mother, ‘I just realized that you work hard to buy things for me so I wanted to do the same,” Nomura says.

That touching experience is just one item of positive feedback that kids learn from the park. A survey undertaken by KidZania Japan reveals that youngsters also tend to become more helpful at home and more curious about their father’s work.

But of course KidZania isn’t cheap. Both parents and children are required to buy tickets to enter. In Japan, the fee for kids ranges from 1,180 to 1,830 baht for a five-hour shift while adults pay a flat fee of 680 baht.

Schubert says admission will be lower in Thailand, with tickets costing from 600 to 650 baht per child.

“We don’t have a membership but kids tend to return because they love the concept. In Japan more than 70 percent of kids return to KidZania,” says Nomura.

By Parinyaporn Pajee

(The Nation)