A kind Danish ex-colleague/manager/friend from Singapore suggested me about Scouting for children, and I am so glad that she reminded me of scouts. I realised that our Little FECS is reaching the age for it. Scouting is good for character-building, teaches children to work well in team, to cultivate a good team spirit, to lead with service in mind. It teaches them life skills, survival skills and leadership skills. Most of all, it teaches them how to care and share with one another. There is great bonding and provides good peer influence, and would like kids to withstand negative peer pressure in life. And the best thing is that - it is done in such fun way! Making food over campfire, kayaking, hiking in nature... etc. The fun never ends. I am looking out for a Christian-based scout group, which also teaches Christian values and godliness. The good thing is that all Scouting associations are affiliated to churches in Denmark, but it is hard to find such a group in post-Christian Denmark. Many of them are Christian-based by name only and the extend that they sing children Bible songs, read from the Word of God varies widely. Prayerfully, I hope I will find the right one for our Little FECS. Below are the ones I have researched so far.
List of Danish Scouting Associations:
1. Lyngby Baptistspejder
- Most active Christian - Baptist DBS - blå - belong to Lyngby Baptistkirke
- Meets on Wednesday from 6-7.30pm at Odinsvej 1, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby
- 350 kr/half year
- Camp: 3-8 Jul
- Lyngby
- Contact: Anne-Mette Email: anne-mette@lyngbyspejder.dk
(+)
- Near Engelsborgskolen
- photos - https://www.facebook.com/lyngbyspejder/photos_stream
- Seem more Christian
- Cheapest in terms of fee
(-)
- Small, may lack resources
- Christian-based - affiliated with Christianskirken Lyngby
- Meets on Monday from 5.30-7pm at Rustenborgvej 15A, Kgs. Lyngby 2800
- 500 kr/half year
- Equivalent to Boys Brigade
- Contact: Morten Jarlbæk Pedersen Tel: 5091 6268 Email:jarlbaek.pedersen@gmail.com
(+)
- 50 members
- Existed for 60 years
- Science experiments
- Owns Lyngbyborg
- Nearest to us - Lyngby lake
- Its yard leads directly to the river, thus very convenient for canoeing
- It has many canoes
- Many photos - https://www.facebook.com/fdfkongenslyngby/photos_stream
(-)
- Small, may lack resources
- Christian-based - KFUM - Grønne spejdere
- Meets on Wednesday at 5.30-7pm i spejderhytten Stalden lige bag Sorgenfri Kirke
- Hummeltoftevej 65, 2830 Virum
- Contact: Marie Storm Nielsen, Tel: 24 98 35 89, Email: spejder.mig@gmail.com
- 550 kr/half year
- Exists since 1960
(+)
- 60 children and 30 adults
- Makes gourmetmad over fire
- own hytte Filialen
- Seems quite Christian
(-)
- Not many pictures
- Not near - Virum-Sorgenfri
- Christian-based - KFUM - Grønne spejdere
- Meets Wednesday from 5-6.30pm at Chr. X’s Allé 106A
- 575 kr/half year
- Camp: 5-7 June, 1-8 August
- Contact: Søren Vilsøe Tel: 39 67 19 95/40 56 15 53 Email: baeverleder@3lyngby.dk
(+)
- 100 members - Largest in Lyngby
- Exists since 1939
- 3. Lyngby gruppe er en stor grøn spejdergruppe som er en del af KFUM-Spejderne i Danmark.
- Many scouts pictures and updated (http://3lyngby.dk/nyheder/gruppen/baeverne)
- Many well-trained leaders
- Gruppen har et stort og dejligt spejderhus ved navn “Spejderhuset Isflagen” som ligger i Lyngby, ikke ret langt fra Lyngby Station og Engelsborgskolen.
- Travel to Sweden and Greece
- Very near where we live - Lyngby
(-)
- Not many photos
- Christian-based - KFUM - Grønne spejdere
- Meets on Monday from 6-7.30pm at Buddinge Kirke at Buddingevej 293
- 600 kr/half year
- Camp: 23-25 May, 25 Jul-1 Aug - Sweden
- Contact: Dorthe Olesen, Tel: 24 23 34 87, Email: baever@buddingespejderne.dk
(+)
- Large group in Gladsaxe Kommune
- Pictures with lots of typical outdoor scouts activities -https://www.facebook.com/Buddingespejderne/photos_stream
- Volunteered in school
- Website looks very professional
- Lots of overseas trip
- Geocaching
- Help to set up scouts in Tunesien
- Value page talked about presenting the gospel for the children - http://www.buddingespejderne.dk/bliv-spejder
(-)
- Not near - in Buddinge
- Christian-based - KFUM - Grønne spejdere
- Meets on Tuesday and Thursday at 6-7.30pm at Baunen (Carlshøj) and Troldehøj
- 400 kr/half year
- Camp: 8-9 May, wk 27 or 28 Summercamp
(+)
- Seems a large group
- Near - DTU
- Christian-based - KFUM - Grønne spejdere
- Meets on Thursday at 6-7.30pm
(+)
- Seems like a relatively large group
(-)
- Not much info on website
- Far - Bagsværd
- Christian-based - KFUM - Grønne spejdere
- Meets on Tuesday at 5.30-6.45pm at Hellerup Kirke
(+)
- 100 members
- Started since 1919 - One of the oldest groups in Denmark
- Har egne hytter i Nordsjælland, kanocenter og andel i en større sejbåd
(-)
- Far - Hellerup
- Non-Christian (Den Danske Spejdere (DDS) - Blå spejdere)
- Meets on Wednesday at 6-7.30pm at Engelsborgvej 50
- 660 kr/half year
(+)
- 70 members
- Exists since 1911
- Near - Lyngby
(-)
- Non-Christian-based
- Most expensive
- DDS - De Blå Spejdere - Den Danske Spejdere - non-Christian, largest in Denmark
- KFUM - De Grønne Spejdere - YMCA - Den danske folkekirke (www.spejdernet.dk)
- De Gule Spejdere - Off-spring from DDS
- DBS - Blå - Baptistkirken Spejdere
- FDF - Lyseblå - Frivilligt Drenge-og Pigeforbund Spejdere - Kristne - no uniform - don't practise "børn leder børn" does not belong to the international Scouts, but Boys' Brigade
- DMS - De Metodistspejderne - Methodistkirken
- DSS- Det danske spejderkorps Sydslesvig - et kristen krops på folkekirkeligt grundlag Other Links
Before I list the Danish Scouting Associations, here are some interesting Facts and Figures about Scouts taken from the Singapore Scouts Associations: http://scout.sg/facts-figures
Some famous Scouts in Singapore
Lee Kuan Yew (Former Minister Mentor)
Yong Pung How (Former Chief Justice)
H.E. S.R. Nathan (Former President of Singapore)
Ong Teng Cheong (1st Elected President of Singapore)
Goh Chok Tong (Emeritus Senior Minister)
Some famous Scouts from around the world
H.M. Adulyadej Bhumibol (King of Thailand)
King Carl XVI Gustaf (King of Sweden)
H.M. Juan Carlos (King of Spain)
Bill Gates (CEO, Microsoft)
Barack Obama (President of the USA)
Jacques Chirac (Former President of France)
Jean Chretien (Former Prime Minister of Canada)
Steven Spielberg (Famous filmmaker)
David Beckham (World’s highest-paid football player)
Sir Paul McCartney (Famous musician)
Michael Moore (Author/Filmmaker)
Sir David Attenborough (Naturalist/TV personality)
Mohammed Ali (Champion boxer)
More interesting facts
26 of the first 29 astronauts
And 11 out of 12 people who have ever walked on the moon
… were involved with Scouting!
Additional Information:
I was just thinking about how I could get our Little FECS to be interested, when I realised that he was already on the very same day that I did my research and talked to him about it. He said that the brother of one of his classmates was there and he is a Scout. And he talked about all the fun things and very "grown up" thing they do. He showed our Little FECS the Scout knife, and our Little FECS was very fascinated with it. Prior to this, our Little FECS came across Scouting in the Donald Duck comic book that Daddy FECS read to him at bed time. And he already wanted to be a Scout. In fact, on the very day I introduced him the possibility of scouting, was also the day that he wanted to tell me he wanted to join Scout. What a perfect timing! I only have God to thank. It seems that He just made all things and prepare all things to fall in place... getting the suggestion from my friend... our son learning about Scout on parallel on his own...
J requested to play with the construction toys we bought from Singapore. Today after Chinese class, we constructed the crane, or rather I constructed the crane with him.
I mentioned that our Little FECS received a good final year report from his kindergarten. His kindergarten principal gave us the credit for the willingness to invest our time in our Little FECS and they could see the results.
Although this made me very glad for the decision we made of me going part-time 1.5 years ago, I need to ensure that I continue to achieve the right balance. I know that I have a tendency to behave like a "Tiger Mom," thus I need to guard against the negative aspects and to tame the "tiger" in me.
4 Ways to Achieve Balance
The 4 following ways help me to achieve a good balance:
1. Mixture of free play and structured activities
Asian moms have a tendency to overschedule our children's life with enrichment programmes that have specific targeted goals for developing logical and ordered thinking, discipline, abstract thinking. Good as they are, we need to have a mixture of free play that allows the child to quieten down himself, room to think and reflect, to develop self-motivation, initiative and retain his passion for learning. Both are equally important.
2. 1 "Rest Day" a week
To achieve balance, dedicate one day a week as a "do-nothing" day. Give my kid room. Ask, "what do you think we should do tomorrow?"
For us, I have dedicated Sundays as our "Rest Day." On Sundays, our Little FECS rests from Montessori activities, rests from doing homework, rests from practising the piano. It is a day, where he gets to do only the things he wishes (but with a caveat - no iPad nor TV the whole day).
Sunday is also the day that we devote to worship God, to learn to quieten ourselves before Him, to ponder upon His Word, to read Bible stories, to sing Bible songs and to learn to know our God more personally. It is also the day we conduct our Weekly Family Meeting Night.
3. Listen to your child
Our kindergarten principal advised us that it is important to listen to your child and she shared with us the recommendations made by the EPPSE 1997-2014 study. We can listen to our child by asking:
"What do you imagine..."
"If I asked Nete, would she think the same..."
"How can we find out..."
"Why do you think that..."
"Do you think everyone would think the same..."
"When I think about that I..."
"I don't know, what do you think..."
"Why do you agree..."
"Was it always like this..."
"Tell me more about that..."
I will continue to strive to achieve balance and it is important to be sensitive to God's prompting. God does let us know, when we get out of balance, be it in our life or with our child. God did so by sending us J's principal :-)
Why do people feel that women have to prove themselves at work, and to make a name for themselves?
Why do people worry about us not having our own identity?
I don't need to make a name for myself.
I don't even need to have a name.
I am happy to be known as J's mom.
J's Mom - yes, that is my name.
And I am making this name known.
People caution me. J is growing up. What do you have left for yourself? Better go back and carve your career, like the lion you were before...
Yes, I have counted the cost.
I have given up even my own name - isn't that the greatest cost?
So, please don't ask me to make career.
My career is being a mom.
No matter how short lived this career is, I have no regrets.
Is it better to have an identity and be totally miserable about it?
Or is it better to have no identity and be totally fulfilled?
We all have different calling.
My calling right now is to be a mom.
At the end of the day, we all give up our life for something.
Mr. Lee Kuan Yew once said, he spent his whole life building up Singapore. He gave his entire life for Singapore.
A Managing Director gave his life for his company. At his death bed, he has given up his life. What does he get? A successful company... plus a lot of money for his children to fight over!
Some people gave their life partying. That is also fine.
I give my life for my child.
Why is one way of giving our life better than the other?
Some children from non-Danish background living in Denmark can be ashamed of where they come from, and I am worried that this may also happen to J. Sometimes J complains about Singapore - too far away, too different from Denmark... But now my worries are laid to rest, for now :-)
How to teach your child to be proud of his background? I stumbled upon this idea by chance
Ans: By showing your country to your child's friends from kindergarten.
We didn't plan it, but one of J's classmates' parents wrote to us that they coincidentally will be visiting Singapore during our visit to there February this year.
They asked if the boys could meet up in Singapore.
So we made time for it and we met up.
We realised later that this is a fantastic way for J to feel proud of his country, of where he comes from... (ok, it is mommy's country. But hey, I consider J fully Singaporean and a part of his heritage.)
Below are some pictures of them playing together at the Far East Organisation's Children's Playground at The Gardens By the Bay.
It was also a chance for J to play host to his guest. J showed B the Chinese New Year market at Chinatown.
They had a lot of fun.
B's parents sent a picture postcard of the two of them to the kindergarten, and we got many positive feedback from the other parents and kids wanting to do the same :-)
His friend, B, really enjoyed Singapore. J and B have already made plans to meet again in Singapore next year. B's parents want to be back to Singapore for their yearly vacation again. So this may be repeated :-)
As for J, the interest B and his parents have for Singapore, that they are willing to travel so far to visit Singapore, certainly made J more appreciative of Singapore and more proud that his heritage. From then on, J no longer complains that Singapore is so far away, that it is too hot, that the food is too spicy, that he has to sit in the plane for hours. I have B's parents to thank for this :-)
Postcard sent by B's parents
J appreciating the Singapore's hot weather more, when he realises that his Danish friend loves it
J appreciates Singapore food more, as he sees that his Danish friend loves the Chinese fried rice :-)
J and B playing chess at Ding Tai Fung Chinese restaurant at MBS
Age: Most suitable for kids 4-12 years old. However, there is a small playland for children below 3 years old.
Concept:
Kidzania is a new form of edutainment theme park for kids.
In this country called "Kidzania," kids earn money by working. Kids get to try out many different types of occupations in a very life-like and fun way. Parents are however, not allowed into the stations. But parents can look in outside through the class panels.
"KidZania provides children and their parents a safe, unique, and very realistic educational environment that allows kids between the ages of four to twelve to do what comes naturally to them: role-playing by mimicking traditionally adult activities. As in the real world, children perform "jobs" and are either paid for their work (as a fireman, doctor, police officer, journalist, shopkeeper, etc.) or pay to shop or to be entertained. The indoor theme park is a city built to scale for children, complete with buildings, paved streets, vehicles, a functioning economy, and recognizable destinations in the form of "establishments" sponsored and branded by leading multi-national and local brands."
But how would I, a Singapore-bred Merlion Mom, describe Kidzania?
I think Kidzania is one of the most value-for-money all-in-one enrichment centres that any Singaporean mom and dad could dream of - and at the same time it is full of fun :-)
Think of it this way, your child is learning general knowledge and practical skills from one-to-one instructor giving personal attention at each station at a fraction of the cost you pay at the enrichment centres in Singapore :-) During peak time, it could be one-to-five.
Education Value:
1. Your child learns to role play different occupations.
2. Without you teaching explicitly, at the end of the day, on hindsight, your child will understand that in order to earn more kidzos, he has to be very strategic and selective with regards to his occupations. What is reflected in real life, your child will learn it here. And it will also teach him decision-making skills. It is better for him to experience this at 6 years old, than as an adult in the real world at 25 years old.
3. Your child learns about many different topics and areas, such as brushing teeth, fire-safety, theft prevention, human anatomy, vitamins. For example, each activity/job shows you how much you earn and summarize what you will learn:
In my opinion, it is more fun than disneyland, but since I have been accused of being a "Tiger Mom," I am probably biased towards such edu-theme parks. I shall leave you to judge for you :-)
Kidzania edu-theme park is located in several different countries. We brought our Little FECS to the one in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia in February this year.
The language of instruction is in English. And the Malaysian crew are superb! I have all the praise for them. They spoke well, genuinely love the kids, and are blessed with extroverted personalities that just make everything comes alive and energetic.
Opening Hours:
There are two sessions. Your entrance tickets allows you for one session, unless you buy entrance tickets for two sessions, as we did to have a full day from 1am-9pm. However, if you go for Saturday, the longer single session from 10-7pm is quite sufficient, provided there is no heavy queue.
First session 10am-3pm
Second session: 4-9pm
Some days you have single session 10am-5pm.
On Saturdays, you have a longer single session from 10am-7pm.
Since we flew into KL just for Kidzania, we wanted to maximize our time there. We bought tickets for 2 sessions for extended time. Our Little FECS has the stamina for the whole day from 10am - 9pm. But he was completely flat out after the theme park closed it doors.
Generally, the afternoon session is less crowded and your child gets more individual attention from the attendant at each vocation station.
It is 18km from KLCC and it takes approx. 20 minutes by cab with no heavy traffic. It cost 41 RM with meter.
The whole experience starts already on the way there...
You "enter" the Kidzania country through the "Kidzania airport":
Here is the main entrance to Kidzania:
Where to Buy Tickets?
When you enter, you will be at the Ground Floor main hall AirAsia "Check-in counters", where you can purchase your boarding passes (aka. tickets to the Kidzania theme park). See the long queue, even though we arrived when it just opened in the morning. To avoid queue, you could buy tickets on-line and save 10% off the ticket price as well. But you have to buy your tickets at least 24 hours before. We didn't, thus we had to queue on-site :-(
Finally, it was our turn. The Kidzania staff were dressed in AirAsia uniform printing out the "boarding passes" to us.
Cost:
Kid: 67.50 RM per session
Adult: 34.20 RM per session
You can save money and get discount by buying your tickets on-line...
Once you have purchased your tickets, proceed up the escalator to Level 5 Immigration Hall to get your "cheque"
Our Little FECS getting his cheque :-)
Kidzania is a "country" for kids. It has its own currency called "kidzos." When your child enters the compound, he first has to get cash as a start up. Here is a picture of our Little FECS queuing up to cash out his cheque into 50 "kidzos" :-)
Give your child a wallet to bring along to keep his "kidzos." It helps with a sling bag.
Besides having its own currency, it has its own language:
Kai = Hello
z-u = See you
Kal = Friend
Zaz = Wow
Kool = cool
We returned for the second session, and there wasn't much of a queue :-) Remember to greet the staff "kai" - Hello.
Once you have visited the bank, head straight to the Information Centre to get your map of Kidzania, which will orientate you and help you navigate and plan your route to maximise the activities offered in the theme park.
There are two floors. Here is the map of Ground Floor:
Here is the map of Upper Floor, where these popular activities are located: pilot station by AirAsia, the Cadbury Chocolate Factory, the Oreo Cookie Factory, the Ice-Cream making Factory, Mineral Water plant and the Surgical Department of the Hospital:
At Kidzania, your child gets to be a pilot. It is one of the most popular jobs...
and also the highest paid. Here you can see the different salaries of the different roles on board an airplane:
Here is the entrance to the flight station:
Our Little FECS putting on the pilot uniform inside the flight station:
Our Little FECS showing off the salary he earned after being a pilot :-)
At Kidzania, your child gets to be a dentist...
Here our Little FECS trying out to be a dentist on a dummy - it looks very real, isn't it :-):
Here are some videos:
He also gets to learn about good dental hygiene and how to brush his teeth...
He gets to try to brush the gigantic teeth... which was a fun way to learn how to brush teeth :-)
Their educational posters are well-designed and fun to read. Here are two examples:
Thereafter he gets his pay being a dentist for a day. Our Little FECS counting his salary :-)
Your child gets to be a fireman for a day. Any activity with water is always a hit. Thus, this is one of the most popular vocations at Kidzania. It is recommended that you head straight for this station, the moment you step into the park, as there risk to be a long queue.
Before your child gets to be a fireman, he gets "training" first :-) Here our Little FECS was treated to a video show on fire-safety with the big brother firemen giving them a presentation. I was very impressed how fun and educational it was.
After receiving training, our Little FECS was a qualified fire-fighter and got to jump into the fire-engine.
Here is a shot of him :-)
The fire-engine then "sped" off one round the park to get to the fire-site:
As you can see, anything with water is fun, which explains why being a fireman is the most popular vocation :-)
At Kidzania, if your child loves Maths, he would love working as a Tax Collector. If he doesn't love Maths, who knows, he may be inspired to it after trying it out :-)
Even if he doesn't, he would get a good lesson on the tax system. The guy who meant the station did a fantastic job in explaining the concept of taxes and how taxes are collected. Plus your child gets to earn some substantial kidzos too :-)
It is near lunch time, feeling hungry?
Now is a good time to work as a Sushi Chef. However, for this station, you have to pay with your "kidzos." Thus, make sure that you have taken on some paying vocations and save up enough "kidzos" for this sushi-making activity. For those who don't like sushi, you can also head over to the pizza-making station.
Our Little FECS learning to make sushi:
Our Little FECS tucking heartily into the sushi he made himself:
If your child is still hungry, ask him to head over to the Marybrown Fast Food Joint and be a Fast Food Crew. Aaww.... this is a kid's paradise, but for young-at-heart adults too :-)
Your child can prepare a nice burger for you (but your child has to pay some kidzos):
After main course, if your child wishes for something sweet, then head to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and learn how to make actual chocolates. They get to eat them too, but this station requires you to pay too - 10 kidzos. Be aware though that there is a minimum age of 8 years old for this station (don't ask me why, I still didn't figure it out even after asking). Our Little FECS unfortunately at 5 years old, did not qualify :-(
There is also the Oreo Cookie Factory, where your child "will be taken through the process of cookie manufacturing and packaging,"but there is a minimum age of 8 years old for this station too, and you need to pay 10 kidzos (so ask your kids to work hard first :-)
If your child is too young to make chocolate or cookie, despair not. Just hope over to the Vitagen Factory and learn how to make Vitagen yogurt drink. The best thing is that you not only get a bottle of vitagen to drink after completion, you are also paid "kidzos" at this station :-) Our Little FECS loved it so much (the vitagen), he did this activity twice.
The set-up is impressive, complete with real production line that looks like a real mini factory:
Give me a high-five. Well done kids :-)
Our Little FECS and the children were having so much fun, and were so excited about manufacturing his own Vitagen... as you could see from these videos :-)
Here our Little FECS was enjoying the "fruit of his labor" of producing vitagen :-)
Want a sweet treat before leaving Kidzania? Now is the time for your child to reward himself and spend some kidzos, after working so hard. Head to the Ayam Cooking Class station and learn to bake muffins with the instructor. After your child has completed it, they will be placed in the oven, and before the edu-theme park closes, you can go and collect your fresh-out-of-the-oven muffins.
Here our Little FECS was engrossed baking his muffins, but unfortunately, we forgot to collect our muffins at closing time! :-(
Thirsty? Opt for the healthy choice to quench your thirst - head for the SeaMaster mineral water making factory. Unfortunately, this station is up for maintenance, and we did not get the chance to try it :-(
Look at how amazingly real the equipment are:
Complete with an attendant in uniform :-)
At Kidzania, you can become a Surgeon too. The whole Kidzania hospital takes up two floors. It is built just like a real hospital - really impressive!
Here is the entrance of the hospital - looks every bit the entrance of a hospital :-)
And the look of the operating theatre is equally impressive, complete with all the details you see in a real operating theatre:
Here Our Little FECS was trying to operate on a dummy patient. He learned how to cut open the chest and handle the knifes... Be warned that this is a very popular station, and could have long waiting time. (I will return to this post later to fill in the blanks).
We were very fortunate that when we were there, there were no queue. This is one of the high paying occupations in Kidzania, along with being the dentist.
Your child earns 12-14 kidzos for being a surgeon - one of the most highest paid vocation at Kidzania :-)
Not keen to be a surgeon? How about being a Nurse? Here your child learns how to handle a newborn baby at the maternity ward of Kidzania's hospital. Very educational if you are going to have a second baby, and have the need to prepare your child to receive a little brother or sister. Even if you don't, this station is very educational and hands-on in training your child how to be a good father/mother :-)
Here is a video of our Little FECS learning how to wrap and feed a newborn baby at the maternity ward of the hospital in Kidzania (You could not hear the conversations, because parents were not allowed in, and this video was taken from afar behind glass panels):
Here is our Little FECS learning how to bath a baby:
Don't want to work in the hospital? Your child can also choose to be a Patient undergoing a MRI. However, being a patient does not pay so well compared to being a surgeon. To be kind to the boy, our Little FECS decided to be a patient. The doctor was registering our Little FECS in the system, before giving him an MRI:
At the Supermarket station, your child can choose to be a customer or a cashier, both jobs earn you "kidzos."
Our Little FECS chose to be a Cashier, and enjoyed very much scanning the items at check-out :-)
Fancy being a politician? No problem, go for it :-) At Kidzania, your child gets to fulfil his dream of being a Major for a day:
Here, our Little FECS was trying out a program on town-planning:
At Kidzania, your child gets to manufacture a Dell laptop. It is quite educational for our Little FECS to learn more about the different components of the computer.
And it comes with a one-to-one Dell instructor too - all for the price all inclusive in the theme park entrance.
Kidzania is the most value for money all in one enrichment centre that any Singaporean mom and dad could dream of :-)
Here your child can learn how to design a car at the Honda Car station:
Here is the car that our Little FECS has designed:
Here your child can try to be a Health Researcher for a day, and explore all the funs with chemistry. According to Kidzania, he "will learn about the importance of personal hygiene in living a healthy life. He will conduct research on liquid soap ingredients and produce liquid soap mixture.":
Or your child can be a Vitamin Researcher, where she or he will be taken through the manufacturing process of vitamin supplements:
There are cameramen all around taking pictures of your child:
Some interesting facts about vitamins:
At the TV Station, one was a News Presenter while our Little FECS was the Sound Crew
Here is what you earn:
Here you get to be a Chemist and learn something about chemistry too :-)
Tired of working at the white-collar jobs? Time to flex his muscle? Your child can try out working as a Construction Worker laying bricks. Some good gross motor and coordination skills training here :-) This station is also suitable for younger children.
Your child can also try work as Petrol Pump Attendant at the petrol station and pump petrol for the cars that stop by at the petrol kiosk :-)
If your child needs to run around to dispense off the extra energy, being a Courier Service would be the perfect job for him. He gets to run around and at the same time earning a salary :-)
How about becoming a Policeman? Your child gets to don the police uniform and...
sees a video on preventing theft...
before he proceeds to catch a thief:
If he is not interested to be a policeman, he can also be a CIA Special Secret Agent. We didn't have the time to try that.
Or your child can work as a Window-Cleaner too:
Or Painter:
Want a job that exercise your child's artistic ability instead? He or she can try out being an Artist at Kidzania's Art Studio. Our son is not so keen with Art, so he didn't try this:
Looking for some interesting and glamorous vocations for girls? Your child can try out running a salon for a day, or try being a Photo-model for a day at the super-model studio (I forgot to take a picture, thus photo not included here). Our Little FECS wasn't interested in them, but this is how the hair-salon looks like, isn't it cute?
Here is another activity working as a Technician at the Air conditioning system, where your child gets through a maze of secret tunnels, slides, tunnels, etc. to "repair" the aircon. It looked really fun, but unfortunately, due to lack of time, our Little FECS didn't get to explore it :-(
The streets of Kidzania are very intricate, interesting, fun and cute to look at. It looks like you are at the town in Disneyland:
The streets are so life-like and full of details - they come fully equipped with a drainage cover...
And traffic crossing junctions too :-)
At the end of the day, if your child still have a lot of kidzos left, he can spend it at the Kidzania Departmental Store. But to be honest, it is not worth a visit.
Be warned, everything costs a fortune there! Most likely, your child would not have enough kidzos left to buy anything, leave disappointed. So you may want to skip this departmental store altogether! This is my only complaint about Kidzania - they set the price too ridiculously high!
Close-up:
Our Little FECS bought a bummerang from the Kidzania store, and he paid a hefty kidzo fortune for it:
Some More Practical Information...
Playhouse for Toddlers:
If you have toddlers or younger kids below 3, despair not, there is aPlayhousefor them all done up complete with different rooms - living-room, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen for them to explore:
Free Wi-Fi:
While waiting for your child, there is free Wi-Fi available for you to keep yourself occupied. I didn't use it much, as I was having so much fun, seeing our Little FECS trying out all the fun activities from behind the glass panels and busy snapping pictures (as you could imagine :-):
VIP Lounge for Parents:
For parents who are tired with walking, there is a VIP lounge just for parents. Kids are not allowed.
Where to Eat?
The food there was mediocre. After the first session end at 3pm, we walked over eCurve Shopping Mall and have our dinner at Din Tai Fung, a Chinese restaurant known for its quality of food, before we went back again for the second session.
Occupation List:
There are approx. 90 jobs to choose from, more than the time available. We didn't get to try all of them. Here is a list of them:
- Dentist (the highest paying job - earns you 12 kidzos)
- Fire-fighters
- Pilot
- Flight attendants
- Secret Agent
- CIA
- DJs
- Model
- News presenter
- Journalist
- Lawyer
- Judge
- Doctor
- Surgeon
- Midwife
- Medics
- Courier
- Painter
- Window cleaner
- Construction worker
- Car Mechanic
- Petrol Station Attendant
- Postman
- Tax collector
- Supermarket check out
- Newspaper delivery boy
- Major
- Policeman
- Hair-dresser
- Chemist
Food related
- Sushi chef
- Oreo Cookie Factory
- Cadbury Chocolate Factory
- Vitagen yogurt drink
- Marybrown Burger
- Ayam Cooking School
- Seamaster Mineral Water Bottling Plant
- Ice-cream maker Summary of Tips:
In order to try as many occupations as possible, you need to plan ahead as efficiently as possible by:
1. Buy your tickets in advance on-line a few days before (you would not be able to buy your tickets on-line a day before. In this case, you can only queue and buy off the counter there)
2. Short-list the jobs your child likes to try in advance before arrival.
3. Give your child a wallet to bring along to keep his "kidzos." It helps with a sling bag. 4. Get boarding passes (aka. entrance tickets) by heading straight for the Check-in counter at Ground Level.
5. Get your cheque at Level 5 Immigration.
6. Remember to greet the staff "kai" - Hello.
7. Head to CIMB Bank to cash out your cheque - you get 50 kidszos.
8. Go to the Info Counter to get facility map to orientate yourself to the different stations of your interests.
10. Kidzania KL consists of two floors. The upper level has less queue or jobs that pay more - you may like to encourage your child to do those first.
11. Near Lunch time, go and queue to make sushi, pizza, burger, ice-cream and vitagen yogurt drink.
12. Before leaving, visit the department store to spend your kidzos.
13. View the photos of your child taken by Kidzania's photographers.
14. Last but not least, remember to wear shoes, no sandals or open toed footwear, especially if you want to be a painter:
Is Kidzania Coming to Singapore?
No time to travel to Malaysia? Fear not, the good news is Kidzania is coming to Singapore. Hurray!!! Watch this space to find out more in due course :-)
And here is a picture of the two of us of our trip to Kidzania Kuala Lumpur for sweet memory:
Here is a salute to you. Thank you for a fun day, Kidzania :-)
