KidZania

One of the activities we planned for Spring Break was something the kids had been looking forward to for weeks. In the Dubai Mall is a place called KidZania, and it is a huge indoor miniature city where kids can perform jobs, earn and spend money, and participate in a make-believe society just for them. It reminds me of BizTown, the 5th grade field trip in Texas schools sponsored by Junior Achievement, where kids are assigned jobs and run the city for a day. KidZania is quite a bit larger with a huge variety of storefronts and jobs that kids can experience. Connor and Kaitlynn couldn't wait to check it out.

When we first arrived, we walked into the town center and watched the KidZania team perform a town opening ceremony. Then we started exploring the town to see which jobs the kids wanted to begin.

The first thing they had to do was open their respective bank accounts at the KidZania bank. Each business and storefront is sponsored by real-world companies and designed to look as similar as possible to the actual business in real life. The kids are given a starting amount of KidZania bucks to begin their day.

It was no surprise to me that the kids picked the local chocolate factory and cookie company as their first jobs of the day, because they'd heard that you get free samples, ha! Some jobs at KidZania will pay the workers a wage, while others will actually cost the kids some of their KidZania bucks. The cookie company, for example, charged a fee because you get to take a nice dessert home with you.

We had been told that some of the popular jobs were airplane pilot and firefighter, so the kids did those early before the crowds came. As it turns out, these jobs were designed more for the younger kids so they weren't as fun. But throughout the day, the kids became more familiar with the types of jobs they enjoyed and they began earning lots of bucks to spend. One of the activities they enjoyed spending their money on was the rock-climbing, and then they were back to earning with all of the various jobs they found.

We learned later in the day that some jobs and tasks are linked. For example, you can go to the University to earn a science degree. Once you earn the degree, your wage at certain jobs will increase. The kids can also build a resume and use that to earn extra wages too.

I was worried that Connor might be a bit old for the experience, but he and Kaitlynn both ended up having the best time at KidZania. There was a food court with several meal options so we grabbed some lunch and the kids went right back to work. I was able to hang out and relax in a super nice parent lounge while the kids continued playing, I mean, working. :-)

We stayed at KidZania for 5 hours and both kids still weren't ready to leave. At the end of their KidZania adventure, they had fistfuls of cash and were begging to return another time. Definitely a fun way to spend a day during Spring Break!