KidZania: New Attraction for Children

What IS KidZania? KidZania was founded in Mexico City in 1996 by Xavier Lopez, who dreamed of creating a place where kids could have fun while enjoying real-life experiences. The first park was opened in Mexico City in 1999 and there are currently 8 other KidZanias in 6 countries. KidZania offers an interactive learning and entertainment experience for kids in a kid-sized city. KidZania empowers and inspires kids to pursue their life’s dreams by exploring what it’s like to live and work in a real functioning city.

 

KidZania officially opens in Malaysia tomorrow, February 28! While I was previewing the place, the only thing that crossed my mind was that I wanted to be a kid again. KidZania is an excellent place for children, I visited with a mother and she couldn’t wait to bring her 3 sons over to KidZania. Secretly, I suspect the parents are also more than thrilled to bring the kids there so they can indulge in their inner child.

 

KidZania is targeted at kids aged between 4 to 14 years where they can choose among 90 activities from 60 establishments. To sum it up, KidZania allows kids to play grown-ups in their own mini city. For toddlers and infants aged 0 to 3 years, there is a dedicated section located on the Mezzanine floor called ‘Urbano’s House’.

 

KidZania Malaysia is located in Curve NX in Mutiara Damansara, and run by Themed Attractions, the same people that brings us Legoland Malaysia. KidZania fits 1,700 people at any one time across 80,000 sq ft of entertainment space. It spans across 2 stories of space and is a scaled-down version of a real life city. Managed by over 300 staff or Zupervisors, they speak a different language there, Kai (instead of Hi), Zee You (instead of See You or goodbye). It also has its own currency called the KidZos, and kids earn KidZos which can be used to pay for goods and services and also stored in an ATM card! KidZania partners with real-life brands in the adult world to provide authenticity to the experience; banking services and the ATM card are provided by CIMB Bank, AirAsia for its airline partner, KPJ Healthcare for its hospital, Dell for computers and etc.

 

 

 

The functioning city is designed to remind kids that life is about options and to reach as high as possible by making their own decisions. At KidZania, this role playing is both educational and fun, they can be a pilot, fireperson, police, lawyer, television producer and more. There are also costumes and uniforms for each profession, we were assured that KidZania practices a strict hygiene policy. By completing a prescribed task, kids earn KidZos which can be saved in the bank or spent on goods and services. By attending university, kids also earn additional KidZos for each task they perform. Activities can be done independently or as a team.

 

The scaled down city is impressive! It has its own functioning fire truck and ambulance which moves! While were were visiting, there were a few groups of children there. We witnessed the fire marshalls putting out a fire and the police personnel were making sure we didn’t cross the line over to the scene of the crime (building on fire), while the fire marshalls were doing their work. There was also a construction site where children had to put on hard hats and learn about safety procedures on-site. Useful learnings for the real-life world.

 

 At KidZania, adults have to accompany their kids but are not allowed in the activity area except for the Theatre and TV Studio. KidZania is a well-secured facility with over 80 cctvs and security tags for both parent and child, where a child can only leave the facility with a matching parent tag. The tags are RFIDed to allow teachers and adults to locate their children’s last position, should the need arise.

 

KidZania has been well planned, with special areas such as the theatre, the club and Urbano’s House for private parties which can host groups of about 50-100 at a go. There are also 6 different food outlets for parents and children to eat from. Parents can dine at these outlets while waiting for their kids, or they can hang around the Independence Square which is at the entrance of the city.

 KidZania opens from 10.00am – 5.00pm Mondays to Fridays and kids can play there the whole day. For weekends, school holidays and public holidays however, there are two sessions, 10.00am-3.00pm and 4.00pm-9.00pm.

Pricing are as follows:

Toddler (3 years and below) – RM35 (MyKad & Non-MyKad)

Child (4-14 years) – RM55 (MyKad) / RM75 (Non-MyKad)

Adult – RM35 (MyKad) / RM55 (Non-MyKad)

Senior Citizen - RM30 (MyKad & Non-MyKad)

For more information, you can visit their website or Facebook page or call their Careline on 1 300 88 KIDZ (5439) – 9.00am to 8.00pm (Mondays to Sundays)

Alasan yang anda fikirlah sendiri

Kenaikan harga petrol bagus untuk rakyat kerana dapat mengurangkan masalah kesihatan, khasnya obesiti. Apabila harga petrol naik maka lebih ramai orang akan menggunakan basikal dan berjalan kaki yang secara tidak langsung menjurus melakukan senaman.

Namun jika ada yang kemampuan sedikit mereka akan beralih menggunakan motosikal untuk aktiviti sehariannya mereka.

Walaupun kadar kemalangan motosikal tinggi dan juga banyak nyawa yang terkorban, ia juga bagus untuk ekonomi negara kerana dapat merangsangkan perkembangan industri insuran negara serta aktiviti perusahaan baik pulih motosikal.

Selain itu aktiviti peruncitan kain kapan serta alatan jenzah akan meningkat. Peluang pekerjaan juga akan bertambah bagi penggali kubur, tukang mandi jenazah, serta penggunaan kenderaan jenazah akan meningkat.

When Gifts Become Shady

    People say money talks. Well it does, but many other things can talk too.

    More often than not, a desired favour can be won not just by cash but through gifts in any form, shape and size.

    But it is corruption, all the same, just without the tangible dollar sign.

    According to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the private giving and receiving of gifts in a work environment, whether in the form of cold hard cash or a nicely wrapped hamper, can easily be open to abuse.
    The culture of gift giving, which is popular in both the public and private sectors, can veer towards a cause-and-effect scenario whereby a gift has to be reciprocated with a deed or a favour.
If it does come down to that, not only will it affect the image of the persons and corporations, institutions or agencies represented, but also the integrity of the sector.
     In the public sector, officers are prohibited from accepting or giving gifts if such actions are connected to their public duty and if the form, amount or value of the gifts given does not match the purpose of the gift.
     The question then arises as to what actually constitutes a "gift".
     The prohibition of giving and receiving of gifts comes under sub-regulation 8 (1)(a) and (b) of the Public Officers Regulations (Conduct and Discipline) 1993, which clearly states what constitutes gift-giving or receiving.
     For civil servants who commit such action, the penalties are swift and heavy.
     If convicted, they will be removed from their position, lose their pensions and other benefits, as well as be barred from future public appointments.
     In the private sector, however, convicted offenders are not blacklisted and can still participate in government procurement, but the commission is working to change that.
     One such step is to include clauses in government contracts whereby convicted offenders will be subjected to termination of the contract without compensation as well as a five-year participation ban on any public contract.
     To combat corruption on micro level, members of the public are urged to report all corruption cases to the MACC. In fact, it is the duty of every Malaysian to do so.
     Protection is given to informants of reported corruption cases, and the informer's identity is protected and will be not be revealed in any court of law.

This article was published by TheSun on Thursday 27 September 2012 at page 07 (advertorial)