All Work Means All Play for LBC at KidZania

Like any great adventure, it all starts with a journey—and this journey begins at the KidZania airport.

There, the kids are given a boarding pass and a map to a city that’s built entirely for them—an urban center where the buildings, vehicles and other features typically found in any metropolis is scaled down to accommodate children.

Unlike typical theme parks, KidZania isn’t brimming with thrills and rides; neither does it come outfitted with the ever dependable gadgetry that parents use to keep their child occupied.

At KidZania, children are given 50 Kidzos, the city’s main currency, which they can readily spend around the city. But once that runs out, the kids literally have to work to earn more—and that’s when they take on real-life jobs designed to teach them essential life skills. Children learn to manage hotels and restaurants, the rudiments of fashion and TV or radio production, the importance of farming and agriculture, appreciate the world of retail and publishing, experience first hand the process of courier delivery or manufacturing, or the basics of the automotive and medical industry. The list, it seems, is endless.

To make the experience realistic, Kidzania partners with brands that share values inherent to them—ones that highlight the importance of learning and education, highlighting the importance of empowering youth for a better future; values shared by the biggest express courier in the Philippines, LBC.

“We choose brands that exist in the real world to be part of this city. But because it’s a ‘better world’ inside Kidzania, we choose brands that match with the values of our company,” explains Denise Peralta, Kidzania’s Industry Partner. “It has to be entertaining but more importantly, it has to be educational.”

Among its most popular jobs is becoming a member of the LBC team. Kids line up and take turns to slip into the familiar red smock the country’s biggest courier company is recognized for.

“The partnership between us and Kidzania is intended to teach kids abstract concepts, lessons, and values present in the real world and are simulated for kids aged four to 14 so get a better grasp of it,” says  Dino Araneta, Chief Strategy Officer of LBC.

The LBC KidZania branch teaches kids the value of efficiency, the benchmark of a trusted leader in the industry, in the simplest way possible, but also the intangible but no less important concepts of respect for other’s property, valuing hard work, friendliness and customer service.

“It’s a very straightforward way of showing children what actually happens to a package daily and what it takes for a parcel to get from here to there. It shows them the people involved, the care that goes into it, and the responsibility that comes with it,” says Dino Araneta, Chief Strategy Officer of LBC.

“Here, the kids are taught the ins and outs of what it takes to be a reliable courier. Simple things such as recognizing the value in a package, which requires them to handle it with care and the idea that they are really responsible for making sure that that package arrives safely to its recipients,” adds Christine Wuthrich, LBC Foundation’s Executive Director.

It’s a job that children, as young as four, take to heart as they go door-to-door with the LBC trolley around the city, announcing deliveries and politely asking KidZania shopkeepers to sign for their packages.

At the end of their shift, they earn their salaries, which they can spend at the KidZania Tiangge or deposit at the bank, where they can, yet again, learn another abstract lesson—the value of saving.

There are a lot of jobs to choose from. A child could be a runway model in the morning and a firefighter over lunch or a journalist by day’s end. And this kind of interactive role play gives kids a chance to learn skills and concepts that do indeed, as the KidZania slogan goes, get themselves ready for a better world.

For more information on LBC, please visit http://www.lbcexpress.com; or call the following hotlines: 8585-999 (Metro Manila), 1-800-10-8585-999 (Provincial).

At Kidzania’s LBC branch, kids learn the value of efficiency, the benchmark of a trusted leader in the industry, in the simplest way possible

Kids make sure that that the packages arrive safely to its recipients by going door-to-door with the LBC trolley around the city, announcing deliveries and politely asking KidZania shopkeepers to sign for their packages

LBC Express, Inc. is the Philippines’ market leader in payments, remittance, courier products, mail, parcels and, cargo logistics. Through a global presence in over 30 countries in Asia-Pacific, North America, the Middle East and Europe, LBC Express’ network of 4,400 locations, partners, and agents is growing steadily, and commits to moving lives, businesses, and communities in the Philippines and across the globe. Founded in 1945 as a brokerage and air cargo agent, LBC Express pioneered time-sensitive cargo delivery and 24-hour door-to-door delivery in the Philippines. Today, it is the most admired and trusted courier, cargo, and remittance service of millions of Filipinos, an iconic and global Filipino brand. LBC can move it for you: visit us at www.lbcexpress.com, or call telephone +632 8585 999 (Metro Manila), 1 800 10 8585 999 (Provincial), and follow LBCExpress (Facebook and Twitter).