COVER STORY | Kids' Entertainment
IDEAS TO GO
ALL TECHED OUT
From afar, the children’s play area at Chatswood
Chase in Sydney, Australia, looks rather unassuming,
with a pint-sized wooden house frame and train on
which to sit. Get a little closer, though, and you’ll see
that the amenity was built with 21 st century families in
mind. The A-frame houses digital stations with iPads
to entertain the children while their parents take a
break from shopping. There’s a large TV screen, too.
The play pod isn’t everyone’s idea of wholesome play
time, and some shoppers have shared their discontent
with property owner, Vicinity Centres, by posting
messages on Facebook, with requests ranging from
adding more traditional play equipment to getting rid of
the iPads altogether and replacing them with soft toys.
Chatswood Chase, however, will continue to cater
to an increasingly tech-enamored clientele. Still, its
management did address customers’ safety concerns
and installed a fence around the play pod.
STEM AT THE MALL
Ask any educator what schools should be
emphasizing in their curricula and chances are it
will be science, technology, engineering, and math,
otherwise known as STEM. Families will get plenty
of opportunities for their children to explore the
rapidly evolving field at Everett Mall (Everett, USA).
In partnership with the Imagine Children’s Museum,
the center offers a hands-on STEM program geared
at preschoolers with the goal of helping them
develop school-readiness skills.
The Little Science Lab welcomes children every
Wednesday to attend a free 30-minute session
(9:30-10:30).
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TACTICS / KID'S ENTERTAINMENT EDITION