Dreamcity Interview

Dreamcity Interview

Dreamcity has been designed specifically to give kid a taste of the workforce and get them thinking about their future jobs. The theme park is the brainchild of mother and qualified Engineer Kajal Pala.

This theme park will have pods that are fun, interactive, and make use of Virtual Reality all while entertaining the children and teaching them something. Pods include:
TV / Radio Studio
Hospital Operating Theatre
Fire Station
Building on Fire
Cultural Centre
Science Lab
Hospital nursery
IT job centre

You can view more about Dreamcity at www.dreamcity.com.au.

Interview with Kajal Pala

Question: What can you tell us about Dreamcity?

Kajal Pala: Dreamcity is an immersive theme park for children combining education with fun. As an edutainment theme park, Dreamcity has five unique zones; a Science Lab, Tech Park, Engineering Zone, Maths Arcade, and Entertainment Zone, with over 33 authentic activity pods. Each is designed for children to develop skills and abilities through career-play, which will both challenge and inspire them. Set to open in 2019, Dreamcity will make Melbourne its home and is set to open in 2019. In the meantime we have an awesome taste tester pop up park opening for the September School holidays. This edutainment concept is the first of its kind in Australia and welcomes children, schools and families to enjoy wholesome education-oriented play.


Question: Where did the idea for Dreamcity come from?

Kajal Pala: In 2015 / 2016 I was studying an MBA and one of my assignments was looking at a new edutainment concept being introduced into Australia and a "Knowledge Management Project". There have been many ups and downs and ground-up development including significant research to develop the business model from scratch. The end results has been what we hope will be a superior product in terms of the "edutainment experience". Also, the park caters to has capacity to reach wider mid-range markets and will be an affordable option for most families and people wanting to visit the park.


Question: How have you gone about creating Dreamcity?

Kajal Pala: I received a lot of support from my MBA professors, to help kick-start the project which I was passionate about. From there and with lots of help from the founding team members who have been on this journey with me for the past three years we moved into the implementation phase of the project. Like the creation of many new things the journey has had tears and struggles however here we are getting ready to open the pop up park this coming September.


Question: Where and when will Dreamcity open?

Kajal Pala: Dreamcity Pop-Up is due to open in the September school holidays at a location in the DFO precinct at South Wharf, Melbourne. Dreamcity is also on track to open its full concept offering in 2019.


Question: How will Dreamcity help kids think about their future jobs?

Kajal Pala: We recognise that children have hopes and dreams and we are all about bringing these dreams alive. We provide them with a fun platform to try out their dreams in real-life. The bonus is that we are also teaching them in fun way to be responsible adults for a day through experiential learning. They get to perform 80+ real-life occupations with the relevant costumes and the setup, such as a surgeon, a banker, a judge and many more, all under the same roof. Dreamcity's aim is to have children talking about their future careers in a fully informed way, well-before they get to their VCE years. Another key focus of Dreamcity is: "Learning by Doing", where the 75% of real learning occurs.


Question: What types of activities are at Dreamcity for kids to get a taste of the workforce?

Kajal Pala: Dreamcity Pop-up will include, but not limited to the following edutainment activities: › tv studio
› radio studio
› science lab
› hospital Nursery
› Operating theatre
› Firefighting
› tech lab
› cultural & travel centre

The Activities Will Cover These 10 Key Learning Areas:
› critical & creative thinking
› resilience & humanity
› arts, space & technology
› science, Maths, Media & economics
› sustainability
› intercultural awareness & integrity
› Personal & social skills
› ethical behaviour & responsible leadership
› social entrepreneurship
› life-long learning skills

The 'full concept' will incorporate 80 + activities over 3000 sq meters and is scheduled to open in 2019.


Interview by Brooke Hunter