Children get to make their own vertical garden. Vladimir Bunoan, ABS-CBN News
MANILA -- Just in time for the summer break, the interactive play center KidZania Manila has added four new activities aimed at teaching kids how to take care of the environment.
The new activities are part of its “Kids for a Greener World” program, which runs until June 15. These are on top of KidZania’s regular offerings with over 100 realistic role-playing activities and over 70 establishments.
“Let your kids spend the best summer ever at KidZania Manila by discovering how they can take care of the environment towards helping build a better world,” KidZania said in a statement released on Saturday.
The program, which is supported by partners Century Tuna, Shell Philippines and H&M, aims to teach kids about water, air and land environment issues such as garbage, overfishing, and car emissions.
Century Tuna teaches kids about sustainable fishing. Vladimir Bunoan, ABS-CBN News
For instance, kids get to learn about the importance of sustainable seafood at the Century Tuna Fish Market, where they are taught to identify which ones are sustainable. They are then tasked to deliver the catch to other areas in the KidZania city like the cooking school and the research and development center.
The Shell Transportation Efficiency Center, meanwhile, uses a maze to teach kids how best to plan their routes to help reduce air pollution and fuel consumption.
Shell raises kids' awareness on saving fuel. Vladimir Bunoan, ABS-CBN News
Clothing giant H&M, for its part, has set up a workshop area where kids are taught about upcycling. As part of its new H&M Conscious campaign, kids are urged to bring any old shirt regardless of brand, which they will put in a recycling box to simulate that the garment has been cut into strips.
The children will then be taught how to use the cut fabric to make bracelets or headbands by braiding the strips together.
H&M teaches kids basic upcycling using old t-shirts. Vladimir Bunoan, ABS-CBN News
The last activity is vertical gardening, which was created by KidZania itself. Here, children get to learn how to plant using bottles and how to arrange them for hanging in a vertical garden.
But the lessons do not end after their trip to KidZania, as the children are also given “homework.” For instance, they can take a photo of an upcycling project at home and post these on social media to get perks on their next visit.
They can also take a photo of themselves carpooling and eating sustainable seafood to receive premium items.