E-Day Town

What a fantastic day I just had with Brandon on a field trip (his last one)! We went to a place called E-Day Town. Funny name…but this is another one of those “best kept secrets” around Shanghai…like the Flowerport. We just happened to fall across this through the school. According to my sources, this venue just opened very recently. It was open for a little while to schools/organizations only. Then, they opened it to the public.

This entire place is set up to teach kids how to make and spend money. There is an entrance fee for kids and a smaller one for adults. Once inside, you are transported to a village-like setting with almost every occupation imaginable. The kids can learn to be pilots on an airliner, a fireman, work for the electric company, be an archaeologist, policeman, security guard, shop worker, hotel staff, chef, race car driver, actor/actress, interior designer, TV anchor person, music instrument maker, optomologist, doctor, babysitter…the list goes on and on! At each shop or venue inside this place, the kids take about 30 minutes learning the “trade” of that particular occupation. They are given brief instructions for their “task”, they get to dress up like the real thing, go in “real” trucks/vans and then get “paid” for the work they did. How cool is that!??

Brandon was a fireman and got dress up like one. He and his “crew” hopped into their fire truck to get to the fire. They arrived at a corner building with a simulated fire behind the glass panes of the windows. Each of the kids got behind a hose and sprayed water at the building to put the fire out! When the fire “went out”, they were done. They all hopped back into the fire truck and went back to the station. As they left, they got paid for the job they did.

Another example would be…
Brandon got to be a security guard. He dressed in the bullet proof gear, and helmet. He learned a few kicking and punching tricks into a soft mat that the employee held. They all grabbed the “gear” and hopped into their security van and then delivered the case of money to the bank safely!

So on and so on, we went from one occupation to another, earning money. The money is the equivalent to Chinese “Disney dollars”. It’s fake, but with realistic numbers and coloring. It was so much fun! Brandon learned a lot about many different kinds of jobs! E-Day Town also has occupations that kids are naturally drawn to, such as, race car driver, cake maker, ice cream maker and others. For these particular occupations, you had to pay a “training fee” to learn the trade (since they are a lot more fun). At the end of their “training”, they get to eat the goodies they made (cake, chocolate, ice cream, etc) and actually drive a smaller version of a F-1 race car around the track a couple of times. It was fantastic!! The really cool thing was that they still learned how to make the food they ate or drive the car. So, the entire experience is set up for the kids to learn at every turn. The employees even encourage the kids to count out the money to them for the training fees. Isn’t that great?? Once Brandon ran out of money, he learned that he had to earn more, by doing another job (or two).

Brandon really liked being a fireman and putting out the fire. He LOVED spending his money on cake making and ice cream. He also enjoyed driving the car. As an archeologist, he found some “ancient” artifacts in the sand…and seemed quite proud of himself. ;-) Mommy’s favorite part was when he learned the trade of babysitting…he actually had to diaper and feed a baby. It was sooooooo precious! He was incredibly gentle with the baby as he held it and walked around the room with it. Ahhhhh…mommy’s heart swelled at the sight. He’s going to be such a good daddy some day. He is already a fantastic big brother!

So, all in all, it was a FANTASTIC day and experience! What a great idea! We’ll definitely be going back!