It's Expo for kids

Young ones can have the time of their lives at Expo, Yu Ran and Li Xinzhu report.

Adults aren't the only ones excited about Expo 2010, so are the kids. According to a survey of primary and middle school students by the Municipal Bureau of Education before the Expo, 70 percent of children said they wanted to visit, while 50 percent hope to go more than once.

Appealing to visitors of all ages, many pavilions have prepared interactive games or facilities for children to learn through playing, especially for Children's Day on Tuesday.

Themed "Children Make a City", the Russia Pavilion has been designed as a fairyland. It features 12 irregularly shaped towers in white, red and gold. The pavilion welcomes visitors to see the world through children's eyes.

"We've got a miniature artificial space where the sun shines permanently, bringing light onto every window of the hall to create a translucent labyrinth with virtual displays of technological inventions by Russian youth," said Julia Nemtsova, the event officer from the Russia Pavilion.

For kids aged five to 10, the technological information shown at the Russia Pavilion may be too complicated to understand but the colorful decorations will still catch their attention.

"I like the Russia Pavilion most because I felt I was in a dream of fairytales. I enjoyed walking past those colorful houses with shinning flowers," said Ren Zhiye, a five-year old girl who was excited to visit the Expo.

"On Children's Day, the Russian Pavilion will welcome Russian and Chinese children to create paintings reflecting their view of the future. Their joint works will be displayed in the pavilion after the event," Nemtsova said.

With similar approaches, the Denmark Pavilion brings the fairytale character, The Little Mermaid, to life.

The best attraction for kids in the Denmark Pavilion is the fountain on the rooftop, created by Danish artist Jeppe Hein. Adults and children can jump into the fountain while water rises and falls around them.

"The Denmark Pavilion is the must-see pavilion for my daughter who adores the story of The Little Mermaid," said Sun Jinlin, mother of a six-year-old girl. "I brought her here to Expo to broaden her views with a multicultural education."

For Children's Day, there will be a special limbo dance competition for the kids on the roof of the Danish Pavilion. There will also be a series of games, including a sack race, a treasure hunt and quiz on Denmark and Danish culture.

Sweden provides children with a slide, an imitation kitchen and a swing inside its the pavilion. Korea has designed interactive games with toys for kids. And Switzerland has a cable car for sightseeing.

"I want to go to all the pavilions with games or playful toys. I want to play on the slide over at the Sweden Pavilion and ride the cable car on the top of the Switzerland Pavilion," said five-year-old Zhang Dali.

The Japan Pavilion, one of the most popular pavilions in Zone A, highlights cutting-edge technologies, including a machine that can turn sewage into drinking water and several robots playing violins for visitors.

"Although we have to queue at least one hour to get into the Japan Pavilion, I really want to watch the robots playing violins," said 10-year-old Wang Bozhi from Yan'an.

"My son is only 10 years old. I don't think that he could totally understand the spirit of the Expo but he definitely can obtain knowledge that he can't learn from classes, " said Wang's father.

Similarly, the Saudi Arabia Pavilion, the second most popular pavilion in the Expo Garden, offers visitors a flight over the treasures of Saudi Arabia. Using immersion screen technology, it's projected on a 1,600-square-meter screen, one of the world's largest. Guests will be able to experience the magnificent beauty of the country and see many of the country's natural and cultural treasures.

"My son is so fond of exploring diverse cultures in overseas countries. Expo 2010 Shanghai gathers a variety of innovations and technologies which will influence and educate children," said Zhu Qinggong, who came to the Expo from Shandong province with his 11-year-old child.

Other national pavilions, including the Netherlands, Germany, Finland and Norway, have also prepared kid's performances and events.

On the Puxi side, there are many corporate pavilions and individual or joint case pavilions. Instead of focusing on culture, this area demonstrates how technologies have or will change people's daily lives and the importance of the environment.

"I want my son to see the features of the future world in the Expo Garden," said Zhang Yanhong, a 37-year old woman from Anhui. "Puxi is more attractive and has a lot of stuff, such as the 4D films."

The Vanke Pavilion is popular with its cinema complete with specially designed chairs that automatically lie down and lift during the movie. Visitors can see a movie promoting the concept of environment protection from different angles.

"I like it very much, that chair is so smart," said Li Ziqian, an 11-year-old boy. "It is very cool."

"We tried to explain to him about the ideas told in the movie, but seems it is a bit difficult for him to understand," said Huang Huiling, his mother. "But at least he saw those concepts in pictures, it is much better than reading it to him from a book."

At the Abilia experience center, children aged from 7 to 15 can chose one of more than 30 jobs, such as chef, police, photographer and banker, to learn how to cooperate with each other in order to complete their work.

"My daughter always says she wants to be a photographer when she grows up, so we reserved that career when we entered the pavilion," said Xu Wenping, who has visited the Expo Garden twice with her daughter. "I don't know what photographers usually do, but this way she can experience it by herself - it is great."

"I like to take pictures of people. It is nice to record the most memorable times of our life," said Wang Jingying, Xu's daughter.

Special events are also planned at Abilia experience center for Children's Day. The center will organize five different performances, including poetry readings, and stage performances. A charity sale will be held and money raised will be used to buy Expo tickets for poor children.

For more educational experiences, at the nearby China State Shipbuilding Corporate (CSSC) Pavilion, Hu Yuexiang, a captain with the China Shipping (Group) Company, tells stories of his sea adventures and teaches children about sailing.

A parade of cartoon mascots of each pavilion is held three times a day on the Puxi side of the Expo Garden, from 10:30am to 11:15am; 2:30 pm to 3:15 pm; and 6:30pm to 7:15pm. Participants include Coca-Cola, Aurora, CSSC and some national pavilions, including Norway.

The three mascots from the State Grid Pavilion, Ampere, Volt and Ohm will make their first public appearances playing games with kids. Gifts will also be given out. Kids with two accompanied adults are allowed to enter the pavilion through a special entry during certain periods of the day.

(China Daily 05/28/2010 page41)