Taking the concept of fun learning from themed parks to corporate boardrooms and introducing fun elements at work, while tapping on the universal appeal and benefits of role-play for adults and corporate alike, Leong Yue Weng, General Manager – KidZania Singapore talks to HR in ASIA about creating unmatched levels of realism into role-play for family edutainment experience and meeting learning objectives of the team. Read on…

• How do you think the concept of fun learning can make its way from themed parks to corporate boardrooms?

KidZania’s concept is founded on the concept of tapping on the universal appeal of role-play, and injecting elements of education, as well as real-world values into fun yet realistic experiences. For kids, they will get to better understand and respect the role that each occupation plays in running a city, pick up skills and values that are difficult to explain within a classroom setting.

For working professionals, the city empowers them to relive their dreams, rediscover themselves, and fulfill their childhood ambitions. The City has more than 60 role-play activities for corporate companies to choose from, and can tailor the activities to meet their event objectives and group size.

Leong Yue Weng, General Manager, KidZania Singapore

By working together in small groups, they get to interact and discover different facets of their colleagues. The various activities can be customised to inject specific values – from teamwork to creativity and cross-activity collaboration, into an environment that is both fun and casual.

At the end of these activities, corporate groups can come together to dine and celebrate, in settings such as a city’s Main Square, or a Stadium, which may not be the venues that are usually available for corporate team-bonding sessions. Booking KidZania Singapore offers corporate groups the chance to “book an entire city”

• How can the monotony at work environment be transformed to a fun culture, wherein employees can learn, have fun and grow with the team?

At KidZania Singapore, all of our Team Members undergo cross training, through which they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to lead different role-play experiences for kids. They can be a crew at the Aviation Academy one day, and BBQ Meat Specialist on the next day.

Not only does this ensure that there is something new to look forward to every day, but it also allows us to give each and every team member a variety of learning opportunities.

Members of our corporate teams will also have to work in the City from time to time, as they swap their business wear for our in-park uniforms and deliver the KidZania experience to guests in the City. Plus, there are activities within and outside of the City such as Nerf Gun Wars and Soccer Matches to give our team members the chance to bond beyond work

• Promoting family edutainment concept and realism in learning, what is the vision of KidZania Singapore, beyond kids to the corporate world?

In KidZania, you will hear these lyrics in our song: “Get ready for a better world,” that is, in a nutshell, what we hope to do for our visitors, for kids and adults. We aim to feature the very best educational entertainment experience in role-playing for our visitors. By educating through play, we hope to empower our visitors with important values and lessons, be it in terms of workplace values or caring for the environment, to make the world a better place.

See: Building Camaraderie at Work with Fun Office Activities

• Are there any programs or corporate associations developed to encourage bonding between employees of the same industry?

We certainly welcome industry associations to consider KidZania as a potential venue and team-bonding activity.

KidZania Singapore Team Bonds at Nerf Gun Wars

• Tell us more about the creative workings of the team behind the scenes at KidZania, towards developing innovative ideas for family edutainment?

KidZania was created and developed by Mexican entrepreneur Xavier López Ancona, the current KidZania CEO, who saw the opportunity to provide a platform for children to learn through play by leveraging on the universal appeal and benefits of role-play.

The concept of role-play has been around for years, and it is a common language with kids around the world regardless of their language or nationality. What KidZania has done differently is to inject an unmatched level of realism into role-play, to allow kids to live out their aspirations, develop life-skills, and appreciate the different jobs that makes a City work.

To achieve this level of realism, all role-play activities are designed in close consultation with real-world brand partners to leverage on their industry expertise to optimise the realism aspect.

An equally important aspect of the edutainment experience is education, which is why all of our role-play activities are designed with education experts from our network of KidZania cities to ensure that we are able to incorporate important learning objectives and opportunities that each child can take away from each role-play activity.

In addition to this, our local team at KidZania Singapore is also tasked to fine-tune the KidZania experience to suit local preferences. Beyond the presence of local brands and jobs unique to Singapore’s culture, KidZania Singapore has also introduced new parent-kid activities as part of its focus on Family Edutainment. Adults are now able to join in the fun as their kids role-play selected activities, and ultimately play a more active role in their kids’ learning journey at KidZania Singapore.

• How do you inspire and motivate the creative workforces at KidZania?

A real challenge for any theme park is to maintain the energy behind its guest experience, which hinges upon its greatest asset – team members who are passionately motivated to do their best for guests.

In addition to regular reward programs, team bonding activities such as soccer matches and Nerf gun wars, and appreciation dinners, KidZania Singapore also places strong emphasis on ensuring that customised solutions are in place to help team members with their daily tasks.

By raising productivity, team members are able to dedicate their time away from routine tasks, and instead focus their efforts on doing what they are most passionate about – delivering the KidZania experience to all guests.

• What are the future expansion plans of the company? Are there any plans underway to expand offerings to the corporate sector, wherein families of employees can benefit from the same?

Built to function like real-world city, complete with realistic city elements, a functioning economy and more than 60 plus “jobs” in the form of role-play activities, KidZania Singapore allows event specialists and corporate organisers to achieve their event objectives in a truly unique and fun way.

There are a total of 5 thematic venues that are available for corporate bookings, and organisers can even “takeover” the entire City for their exclusive use.

With a City buyout option, participants of all ages would be able to participate in the role-play activities. Kids would be able to live out their aspirations, while adults would be able to relive their childhood dreams as they bond with their family and colleagues. Role-play activities can also be customised to best fit event objectives such as teamwork creation, skills development, confidence building and knowledge acquiring.

Till date, KidZania Singapore has held a number of corporate events, ranging from CSR visits to Family Days, Product Launches and even sit-down Dining events. All 5 thematic venues are available for both day and night functions for a minimum group size of 30. Organizers of larger groups between 100 to 1,500 guests would be able to buyout the City for their exclusive use.

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Image credit: youngparents.com.sg