Entering a KidZania, the visitor doesn’t have the sensation of entering a classic amusement park: no large open spaces, no roller coasters or even any carousel. The place does not present itself as such, but under the concept of “interactive city for children”.
The twenty-eight KidZania parks around the world – the four pioneers were born in Mexico – are all located in shopping malls. And for good reason! KidZania is, actually, a mini-mall for kids, or “a plastic village on two floors”as described in 2018 by Mexican writer Juan Villoro in his book The Horizontal Vertigo. Una Ciudad Llamada Mexico (Editions Almadia, not translated).
In this highly plasticized decoration, children play at working like adults in commercial signs that have identically reproduced their shops, their logos, their products and even the uniforms of their employees. The Walmart supermarket is next to the McDonald’s fast food restaurant, the Nissan car company has a Domino’s Pizza in front of it, and you enter it after crossing a window with the colors of Aeromexico. The airline issues the points entrance ticket which can be exchanged at the Spanish BBVA bank for the “Kidzo” tickets.
Only the Aerospace Center, Theater, Fire Station, Veterinary Clinic and Police Station do not display the company name or logo on their windows. On the other hand, the hospital in Angeles belongs to a private health group, the university is that of Anahuac, one of the most expensive faculties in the country, and the National Electoral Institute is in fact the official institution in charge of elections in Mexico.
“KidZania’s concept is both educational and fun. Children come to our city to work and earn money. The goal is for them to understand life in society, what work and salary entails: every time you work, you earn money that you save, spend or can even donate to charity.explains Erasmo Rufrancos, one of the company’s spokesmen, who guides us through the world’s first KidZania, born in 1999 and still based in Santa Fe, northeast of Mexico City.
“Are you strong today?” »
KidZania legend says its founder, 59-year-old Mexican Xavier Ancona, got the idea when he was planning to start a simple daycare. More than twenty years later, KidZania is present in twenty-two countries on four continents (America, Africa, Asia and Europe) and six plants are planned in Chicago (Illinois) in the United States, in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, in Johannesburg in South Africa, in Hanoi in Vietnam, in Singapore and in Hong Kong. The Mexican company does not publish its turnover, but claims to welcome an average of nine million visitors a year to all its sites and to work with more than a thousand companies from all over the world.
You still have 71.74% of this article to read. The following is for subscribers only.
