KidZania, Role Playing at its Finest, and it’s coming to Manila!

We couldn’t wait for the opening of KidZania in Manila that we flew to Japan just to see it!

LOL! 🙂

During our recent Japan trip, we made sure to drop by KidZania, Tokyo for the kids to be able to experience this one of a kind facility that lets them role play real jobs. DA and his cousins were complete, a rare occasion, and so it was a great bonding and learning experience for all of them. Oops, the little one (DS) was not included since the allowed age range was 4-14 years old. 

The kids were all excited to go inside that we were not able to have a photo op by the signage. Aww… I borrowed this logo from their website instead. 

 Upon entering the facility, each child was given an empty Job Schedule Card. They would present this at each department that they’d want to apply a job at and the attendant would put the department’s sticker and indicate the time to come back. Upon completion of a job, the attendant would then sign or stamp the card.

Fire Department

This was our first stop, a very interesting stop. They get to be real firefighters!  

Do they seem like firefighters to you?!

Here, they were given training on line formation, following orders, do’s and don’t’s, etc.

After their training, they were then given their uniforms to wear. So cute! They each wore hairnets before the actual helmet for hygienic purposes.

It wasn’t long before the fire alarm sounded. They soon boarded the fire engine to go to the site.

A house was burning! You can see the smoke starting to come out!

Our brave firefighters to the rescue!

 

Whew! All in a day’s work! Back to base.

Upon completion of their job, they were compensated with KidZania money called Kidzos for their hard work. They each earned 8 Kidzos, a firefighter badge, and a firefighter gold token. 

Airplane

Next stop, airplane! 

For this, we only saw them on monitors since they went upstairs to the plane. Some kids went on as pilots while others became flight stewards.

Gas Station

Next, become a gas attendant. 

There they are, waiting for their customers.

A child can actually be the one driving a car but that would mean getting a license to drive, which will cost you Kidzos. Being a gas attendant however, is free, plus you get compensated. 🙂 As gas attendants, their task was to fill up the tank and clean the cars. DA was very good at it, especially the cleaning part! LOL! 

Yakult Scientist

Yakult! Everyone’s favorite drink!

The wacky Yakult scientists posing for a picture.

The attendant warned that the session would be in Japanese but the kids didn’t mind. In the end though, I think the guy tried his best to do it in English. 🙂 They do have an English day though, where all the sessions and departments are in English but it’s only on Wednesdays. Try to schedule around that if you can. 🙂 

They even got to see the live bacteria under the microscope!

Coca Cola Bottling Plant

The uniforms are so cute! Especially on the littlest one!

Here, they got to clean bottles, pour coke on them, seal, and store them.

Plus, they got to take home their own coke! Whooppeee! Becuase of that, their compensation was only 5 Kidzos, instead of 8. 

Police Station

DA missed this because there were only 4 slots left (he was the 5th one). This was also nice because they got to be police detectives trying to solve a case. They dusted for footprints, followed clues, and finally arrested the suspect.

The park was open from 9AM-3PM only. There really wasn’t enough time to do everything since there were so many things to try.

Here are some of the other departments and their job offerings.

Hospital

That’s the hospital and the ambulance parked outside.

It has an emergency room, a pharmacy, a surgery room, an opthalmic surgery room, and a nursery. There’s the patient needing cataract surgery, waiting for his surgeons. 

This is the nursery with dolls as babies. Awwww…! 🙂

Pizza-La Pizzeria

Photo Studio

The kids were trained to be photographers. Just look at that kid holding a DSLR on the left. They would then go around the place, taking photos of events…

Like this for example. A wedding! I wonder what job they applied for.

French Restaurant

Barber Shop

DA was supposed to do this but he was so scared of the mannequins that he quit! 

TV Studio

Tour Planner

Newspaper Edition

The kids get to be newspaper reporters. There was no one trying it out though when I checked.

Department Store

Optical Shop

Publishing House

Here, the kids were trained to be graphic designers. They get to tinker with the computers and print things out.

Radio Station and Veterinary Clinic

What to do with all your Hard-Earned Money?

After all that hard work, it was time to spend a little.

Or save.

As in real life, the kids can either deposit the Kidzos in the bank (they’d have to go through the whole process of opening a bank account)….

 or they can just spend it in the department store and buy the things that they like. Only kids were allowed inside so they get to be the one to choose what they spend their own money on.

Here’s an example of how much one has to earn to be able to buy the nice items. 🙂

That telescope sure looks nice… and that baseball bat, and that tennis racquet…

 Wonder what DA bought with his Kidzos?

Ta-da! A plastic, toy lion. He actually wanted another dinosaur but I think his money wasn’t enough. This was around 70 Kidzos. You can probably get these at P10 here haha. Oh well, it’s his money. 🙂

It was truly a great experience for the kids and I’m sure it taught them a lot about the different professions and about working hard and earning money to be able to buy the things that they want. I really can’t wait for them to try out the Manila version, which is slated to open in Bonifacio Global City real soon. 🙂 I hope it’s just as real, and just as great! 🙂