
A theme-park chain where children pretend to be adults - neop
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/01/19/grow
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Terr_
Trying to "emphasize normal" with a bunch of children reminds me of this book-
quote:

> "It's simply a matter of correct emphasis. For example, a typical downsider
> history of, say, the settlement of Orient IV usually gives about fifteen
> pages to the year of the Brothers' War--a temporary if bizarre social
> aberration--and about two to the actual hundred or so years of settlement
> and building-up of the planet. Our text gives one paragraph to the war. But
> the building of the Witgow trans-trench monorail tunnel, with its subsequent
> beneficial economic effects to both sides, gets five pages."

> "In short, we emphasize the common instead of the rare, building rather than
> destruction, the normal at the expense of the abnormal. So that the quaddies
> may never get the idea that the abnormal is somehow expected of them."

> [...] The degree of censorship imposed upon the quaddies implied by Yei's
> brief description made his skin crawl--and yet, the idea of a text that
> devoted whole sections to great engineering works made him want to stand up
> and cheer.

(Falling Free, by Lois McMaster Bujold.)

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mirthquakes
I went to Ciudad de los Niños when I was ten and had a blast. What I remember
most is how committed they are to the different "jobs" you can play. As
doctors, you and your friends pile into the back of a van-sized ambulance and
get driven to the site of an "accident" (a kid lying spreadeagle near the go-
kart track). You lift him into the vanbulance, drive him back to the hospital,
and then "revive" him with prop defibrillator. There's a counselor there to
guide the experience, but he plays the part a panicky nurse who desperately
needs your help to save this kid's life.

The tiny buildings and costumes set the mood, but it's really the people who
make this park possible.

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organsnyder
Reminds me of The Game of Life game (the Milton Bradley version—not the Conway
one). That was one of my wife's favorite games growing up, so we got it as
wedding present. When we tried to play it once, I found it even more boring
than I expected for a kids' game: The prospect of buying a house, getting
insurance, etc. is incredibly mundane when you already have the real-life
versions.

Our kids aren't quite old enough to play it yet, but I've been trying to
figure out how to hide it from them. Not only is it unimaginative, winning is
defined as acquiring certain possessions and building a perfect 1950's-style
American family. Not that there's anything wrong with that in real life (my
own family fits the stereotype), but there are plenty of other ways to "win"
at real life.

~~~
joezydeco
I play it once in a while with the kids, but all they really enjoy doing are
the typical game mechanics: spinning the clacky spinner, moving the toy cars,
and counting money.

And I agree: there's nothing else in that game that has any use to children
today.

~~~
secabeen
Milton Bradley has changed the game over the years, so it plays a little
differently now than it did.

~~~
twic
Apparently a huge amount:

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=210009](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=210009)

And here's some ancient history:

[http://thebiggamehunter.com/games-one-by-one/checkered-
game-...](http://thebiggamehunter.com/games-one-by-one/checkered-game-of-
life/)

I remember playing an edition that was probably early '80s, and being really
struck by the fact that there were three different kinds of points - wealth,
fame, happiness - which you often had to trade off against each other, and any
of which could net you a victory. I think that was the first time i played a
game like that.

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hudibras
There's certainly a lot of discussion and even some controversy on whether
KidZania is a good or bad thing. But one thing is certain: it's _insanely_ fun
for kids.

Jeffrey Friedl (author of _Mastering Regular Expressions_ ) has some KidZania
entries on his blog from a few years ago.

[http://regex.info/blog/2009-06-28/1245](http://regex.info/blog/2009-06-28/1245)

[http://regex.info/blog/category/japan/kidzania](http://regex.info/blog/category/japan/kidzania)

~~~
lazyant
Can't imagine why it would be a bad thing, although I don't know the , I don't
see anything negative in the blog entry.

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dalacv
I took my kids to the two KidZania parks in Mexico City when they were
younger. They still talk about it frequently. Basically it is like a little
city. Kids can be firemen, doctors, painters, vets, walmark checkout clerks,
etc. I highly recommend it. It was way more interesting than Disney. Check out
the video on [http://www.kidzania.com](http://www.kidzania.com) to get a
better idea.

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TomSawyer
Sounds like a south Florida venture, named Wannado City, that didn't make it.
[http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/2010/11/where-w...](http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/2010/11/where-
wannado-city-went-wrong.html?page=all)

~~~
Cogito
This is mentioned in the article. One of the founders, who reportedly had the
original idea, tried to start an American version.

 _Laresgoiti had sold his share to López in 2002 and moved to Florida, where
he launched Wannado, a theme park similar to KidZania. It closed in 2011._

The article later mentions that a separate franchise operation is looking to
open up to 16 kidzanias in the US soon.

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joezydeco
The American equivalent would be a modern children's museum, with slightly
less of the STEM educational exhibits and more of the roleplaying areas.

The one my kids love the most (the Kohl in Glenview, IL) has a play
veterinarian's office, day care center, Safeway supermarket, and a miniature
Potbelly Sandwich shop:

[http://imgur.com/kz39sMZ](http://imgur.com/kz39sMZ)

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wink
We had something called 'MiniMünchen' here in Munich, Germany when I was a kid
- was more like a longer event with children manning boothes, a special
currency and stuff

Hard to find English material, but [http://www.mini-
muenchen.info/index.php?article_id=34](http://www.mini-
muenchen.info/index.php?article_id=34) doesn't look too bad.

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ExpiredLink
> Whereas Disney’s Magic Kingdom parks promise fantasy and wish fulfillment,
> KidZania is a proudly mundane municipality

For children that's the same.

~~~
teddyuk
that might explain diggerland in the uk!

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yellowapple
I've seen a couple of examples of this throughout the U.S., but on a much
smaller scale. I'd always wanted to do something like this as a kid, but never
really got the chance to. Whatever the case, it's pretty cool that it's caught
on worldwide.

I personally think this sort of park is a good thing. Making the real world
fun? I'm all for that. I'd imagine it's also a good way to encourage children
to figure out what they'd _really_ want to be when they grow up by letting
them explore what those jobs are like.

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kriro
In my city there's a "mini-City" week during the hollidays where kids (about
20 or so) get to be adults for the week and pick their occupation. They even
have their own currency. I've volunteered for it once the kids enjoy it a lot.

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stefantalpalaru
That's weirdly appropriate in a society where adults pretend to be children
and use words like "poop" regularly.

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bitwize
Do they have to get a loan approved by Mrs. Griswold?

