KidZania Go! brings immersive role-playing experience to Metro Manila schools

MANILA, Philippines – The global leader in educational entertainment, KidZania is slated to open its Philippine facility, KidZania Manila, at the Bonifacio Global City in early 2015, combining learning and fun through realistic role-playing of grown-up jobs.  The brand is also bringing the a taste of the immersive experience to various schools in Metro Manila through KidZania Go!, giving students a glimpse of the role play experience that awaits them at the kid-sized city.  

KidZania Manila kicked off its KidZania Go! school tour at Colegio San Agustin, Makati and St. Paul College Pasig, to create excitement and anticipation for KidZania’s ultimate role-playing environment.

At St. Paul College Pasig, the Mere Marie Anne de Tilly Convention Hall was transformed into an interactive play area where the students had fun role-playing different grown-up careers. Armed with their magnifying glasses and quick thinking, pupils became police detectives ready to solve a mystery case. 

The students also channeled their inner artists and created colorful pieces of artwork, which were displayed at the Art Gallery. As pastry chefs for a day, students decorated goodies at the Bakeshop.  An early favorite, there was also an urban gardening activity, where the students learned how to plant and care for seedlings.

“Play, especially role-playing, is very important in children’s education here at St. Paul College Pasig. In order to better ensure effective teaching and fun learning, it is important to ‘speak our children’s language’ and part of this is through play,” said Marivi Zamora, the school’s Community Relations Officer.

Zamora added that because of the students’ wonderful experience with KidZania Go!, St. Paul College Pasig is keen on further partnering with KidZania in implementing fun learning programs that can help Paulinians hone the skills they need to successfully navigate through life.

“These include independence, team work, communication, critical thinking, decision making, and even financial literacy from a ‘real-world’ perspective. These are taught not only through classroom lectures, but also through play and role-playing outside the classroom,” she said.

KidZania Go! also visited Miriam College and is set to tour more schools in Metro Manila. The school tour is bringing a host of fun games and exciting activities that reflect the rights of every child at KidZania —the right to play, to know, to create, to share, to care, and to be.  Each KidZania Go! facility can accommodate 60 to 100 students at one time. 

Recognizing the universality of role-playing, KidZania Manila uses this concept to let kids learn through personal experience, ignite their imagination, and make them more receptive to learning. The indoor play city features over 100 role-playing activities—ranging from firefighters and pilots, to news anchors and musicians—in different establishments supported by real-world brands. At this ultimate role-playing environment, kids can learn about different careers, discover how a city works, and know more about the concept of earning and managing money, all with a view to inspiring children to help create a better world.

“We’re designing and building KidZania Manila to be the ultimate role-play venue for Filipino kids -- a safe, secure environment where they can have fun, unleash their imaginations and creativity, inspired to be anything they want to be,” said Maricel Pangilinan-Arenas, president and CEO of Play Innovations Inc., the Philippine franchise owner of KidZania.  “Through KidZania Go!, we’re giving students a peek into the adventures they will enjoy when the play city opens in 2015.”