KidZania Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
KidZania

Type	Family Entertainment Center
Industry	Entertainment venue
Founded	1 September 1999; 25 years ago (1999-09-01)
Headquarters	Cuajimalpa, Mexico
Number of locations	30

KidZania is a fun place where kids can pretend to be adults and try out different jobs. It's like a mini-city built just for children! This amazing place started in Mexico and now has locations all over the world. About 9 million people visit KidZania every year.

What is KidZania?
How KidZania Started
KidZania Characters
KidZania Locations
Awards and Recognition
Images for kids
See also

What is KidZania?

KidZania, Lisbon, 2014

A mock court at KidZania Bangkok, 2015

Firefighter activities at KidZania, Noida

Imagine a city built just for you! Each KidZania is a small version of a real city. It has buildings, shops, and even theaters. There are also vehicles and people walking around.

Kids aged 4 to 14 can try out many different jobs. You can pretend to bottle Coca-Cola or work in a dentist's office. You might even work at a McDonald's restaurant. You can also paint, wash your hands with P&G's Safeguard soap, or use airline tickets from real airlines.

When you work, you earn kidZos. This is KidZania's own special money! You can keep your kidZos in the KidZania bank. Then, you can spend them at the gift shop or on other activities inside KidZania.

For safety, all children wear electronic bracelets. This lets parents know where their kids are at all times. Did you know that famous Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan helps promote KidZania in India? He even owns a part of KidZania India!

How KidZania Started

KidZania was created by a Mexican businessman named Xavier López Ancona. He is still the CEO of KidZania today. The very first KidZania opened in September 1999. It was in a shopping mall in Mexico City. Back then, it was called "La Ciudad de los Niños," which means "The City of the Children."

Over the years, KidZania grew bigger. In 2007, they hired Andrew Darrow to help with entertainment strategy. Later, Cammie Dunaway joined to help with marketing. KidZania has partnered with many companies to create realistic job experiences for kids.

KidZania Characters

The special mascots of KidZania are called the RightZKeepers. They represent important rights that all visitors to KidZania have. Together, they also share a special sixth right: the Right to Be.

Here are the RightZKeepers:

Urbano (Right to Know): He is 9 years old with green hair. Urbano is very smart and loves to explore. He enjoys doing experiments and inventing new things. He has been a character since 1999.
Vita (Right to Care): Vita is Urbano's younger sister. She has blue hair and is very kind and caring. She loves all living things. Vita also appeared in 1999.
Bache (Right to Play): This is Urbano and Vita's blue pet dog. Bache loves to play and eat everything! His biggest dream is for every kid in the world to be as happy as he is. He joined in 1999 too.
Beebop (Right to Create): Beebop is Urbano's best friend and is 10 years old. He has orange hair and loves music and art. He wears a yellow shirt and headphones. Beebop joined the team in 2012.
Chika (Right to Share): Chika is the fashion expert of KidZania. She has pink hair and wears fake cat ears. She is very friendly and gets her ideas from her favorite anime and manga characters. Chika also appeared in 2012.
Bekha (Right to Be): Bekha is 11 years old and has dark blue hair. She represents the power to be yourself and be unique. This right is about being free to act, speak, and think as you wish. Bekha joined in 2017.

KidZania Locations

Current locations

KidZania Bangkok, December 2017

KidZania Mexico City, opened in September 1997.
KidZania Monterrey, opened in May 2006.
KidZania Tokyo, opened in October 2006.
KidZania Jakarta, opened in November 2007.
KidZania Koshien, opened in March 2009.
KidZania Lisbon, opened June 2009.
KidZania Dubai, opened January 2010.
KidZania Seoul, opened February 2010.
KidZania Kuala Lumpur, opened February 2012.
KidZania Santiago, opened May 2012.
KidZania Cuicuilco in Mexico City, opened June 2012.
KidZania Mumbai, opened April 2013.
KidZania Kuwait, opened June 2013.
KidZania Cairo, opened September 2013.
KidZania Turkey, Istanbul, opened February 2014.
KidZania Jeddah, opened January 2015.
KidZania São Paulo, opened January 2015.
KidZania London, opened June 2015.
KidZania Moscow, opened January 28, 2016.
KidZania Busan, South Korea, opened in April 2016. This is the second KidZania in South Korea.
KidZania Delhi NCR, in Noida India, opened in May 2016. This is the second KidZania in India.
KidZania Guadalajara, opened November 2018.
KidZania Doha, Qatar, opened May 2019.
KidZania Abu Dhabi, opened June 2019. This is the second KidZania in the UAE.
KidZania Johannesburg, opened 2019.
KidZania Dallas, opened November 2019.
KidZania Surabaya, opened December 12, 2020. This is the second KidZania in Indonesia.
Kidzania Fukuoka, opened August 2022.

Upcoming locations

KidZania Toronto, scheduled to open in 2022.
KidZania Paris, scheduled to open in 2022.
KidZania Chicago, opening 2022.
KidZania New York, opening 2022.
KidZania Los Angeles, scheduled to open in 2022.
KidZania Pittsburgh, scheduled to open in 2022.
KidZania Hong Kong, scheduled to open in 2023.
KidZania Atlanta.
KidZania Taipei.
KidZania Giza.
KidZania Amman.
KidZania Riyadh.
KidZania Singapore, opened April 2016, closed June 2020. Reopening in 2024.

Former locations

KidZania Manila, opened August 2015, closed August 31, 2020.
KidZania Bangkok, opened March 2013, closed May 2021.
Kidzania Costa Rica, opened December 2018, closed July 2021.

Awards and Recognition

KidZania has won many awards for being a great place for families. The IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) named it the World's Top Family Entertainment Center. It was also named the Global Leisure Operator of the Year in 2009.

From 2011 to 2015, KidZania was recognized as one of "The Best Mexican Companies." This award is given by important groups like Banamex and Deloitte México.