Mexico’s fourth KidZania, a “family entertainment center” that puts children in simulated work environments, opened in Guadalajara’s Plaza Patria December 6.
Aimed at children age 1 to 14, the complex allows children to play at being airline pilots, firefighters, surgeons, police officers, businesspeople and many other professions and jobs.
Each Kidzania branch is a small facsimile of a city, complete with shops, theaters and vehicles tootling down its streets. In exchange for units of currency, called kidZos, children perform a variety of tasks (while overseen by actual adults) as “employees” of various real-life corporations, such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola and American Airlines. The fake money, stored in a bank, can be spent at the gift shop and on kidZania’s many activities. The idea is that children learn the concept of saving and spending money.
Children are prevailed upon to don electronic bracelets, allowing their parents to keep track of them no matter where they stray. Other features of a typical KidZania universe are a mock court, a kid-run government and a cast of mascots, called the Rightz Keepers.
The Guadalajara project cost in the area of 250 million pesos and will employ 400 people. There are 36 “establishments” and 50 different real-life role-play adventures located in 5,500 meters of space. An estimated 320,000 visitors are anticipated over the next 12 months.
KidZania is a privately owned Mexican chain currently operating in 25 locations worldwide. The expansion to Guadalajara is a dry run for the company’s growth throughout Mexico, with further locations planned in Leon, Queretaro, Merida and Puebla, should the Jalisco venture prove successful. Currently, Mexico boasts three locations, two in Mexico City and one in Monterrey. Other locations include Dubai, London, Istanbul, Bangkok, Tokyo, Moscow, Manila, Mumbai, among others. Openings in several U.S. cities are planned soon.
Centro Comercial Plaza Patria Col. Jacarandas, Zapopan. Opening times: Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. KidZania will be closed on December 24; open from 2 to 8 p.m. on December 25; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on December 31. The cost of entry for children age 1 to 16 is 299 pesos; for over 17, 179 pesos. The website is guadalajara.kidzania.com. It has a section in English.