Wanted Man
1st March 2009, 10:36
Micropolix Theme Park Gives Kids a Taste of the Real World through Kiddie Capitalism (http://i.gizmodo.com/5156230/micropolix-theme-park-gives-kids-a-taste-of-the-real-world-through-kiddie-capitalism)
By Andrea Wang (http://i.gizmodo.com/people/misguidedeskimo/posts/), 11:45 PM (http://i.gizmodo.com/5156230/micropolix-theme-park-gives-kids-a-taste-of-the-real-world-through-kiddie-capitalism) on Wed Feb 18 2009, 7,410 views
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/stills/kiddiecapitalism_gizmodo.flv.jpgMove over, Disneyland—life isn't always magical. CNN (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/business/2009/02/18/goodman.spain.kiddie.capitalism.cnn) investigates Micropolix, a new theme park in Madrid, Spain, that teaches kids about the economy and the importance of money by making them work for their fun—literally.
Dubbed as a mini-metropolis, the theme park is designed to be like a smaller version of an actual city, where the children must earn money in order to pay for any activities they want to participate in during their visit.
Upon arriving at the theme park, the kids must first go to the bank and wait in a line to get a tiny bit of "start-up" play money to get them going. However, if they run out or they want more cash, they have to go to the employment offices to get a job—including everything from gas station attendants to models in a fashion show—which will trade manual labor for a paycheck. With this paycheck, they are able to pay for driving lessons—through a simulated video game—their license, their car insurance, and gas, among many other things.
No thanks, I'll stick with Disneyland. [CNN (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/business/2009/02/18/goodman.spain.kiddie.capitalism.cnn) - Thanks Helen!]
http://i.gizmodo.com/5156230/micropolix-theme-park-gives-kids-a-taste-of-the-real-world-through-kiddie-capitalism
By Andrea Wang (http://i.gizmodo.com/people/misguidedeskimo/posts/), 11:45 PM (http://i.gizmodo.com/5156230/micropolix-theme-park-gives-kids-a-taste-of-the-real-world-through-kiddie-capitalism) on Wed Feb 18 2009, 7,410 views
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/stills/kiddiecapitalism_gizmodo.flv.jpgMove over, Disneyland—life isn't always magical. CNN (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/business/2009/02/18/goodman.spain.kiddie.capitalism.cnn) investigates Micropolix, a new theme park in Madrid, Spain, that teaches kids about the economy and the importance of money by making them work for their fun—literally.
Dubbed as a mini-metropolis, the theme park is designed to be like a smaller version of an actual city, where the children must earn money in order to pay for any activities they want to participate in during their visit.
Upon arriving at the theme park, the kids must first go to the bank and wait in a line to get a tiny bit of "start-up" play money to get them going. However, if they run out or they want more cash, they have to go to the employment offices to get a job—including everything from gas station attendants to models in a fashion show—which will trade manual labor for a paycheck. With this paycheck, they are able to pay for driving lessons—through a simulated video game—their license, their car insurance, and gas, among many other things.
No thanks, I'll stick with Disneyland. [CNN (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/business/2009/02/18/goodman.spain.kiddie.capitalism.cnn) - Thanks Helen!]
http://i.gizmodo.com/5156230/micropolix-theme-park-gives-kids-a-taste-of-the-real-world-through-kiddie-capitalism