Birmingham Airport in the West Midlands has unveiled two new interactive children’s play areas located at gates three and 54 in the main terminal. The Sky Zone airport play zones are free to use and have been designed to keep 3-10 year olds occupied prior to departure.
The experience begins the moment children check in, when they are given an interactive ‘flight pack’ containing fun games and puzzles designed to engage, amuse and inspire. As children make their way through the terminal to Sky Zone, floor stickers lead the way and feature clues to activities in the flight pack.
Each zone has been specially designed to prevent children from getting ‘bored before they board’ with a selection of interactive games and activities, including a uniquely designed security spot check game, fly pads, a reaction station, a musical mission pod, and memory games. Each area also features the airport’s mascot Sky Cadet ‘Zoom’.
David Winstanley, chief operating officer, Birmingham Airport, said, “For many people their holiday starts the moment they step into the airport. We want both adults and children to find our facilities world class and their experience here memorable and positive.
“The redesigned Sky Zone gives us the opportunity to offer children a fun and exciting play area with games and activities centered on aviation to educate our young passengers about the airport.”
In addition, the airport has launched a new digital platform called Sky Zone Online for older children. This is an interactive digital zone where children can learn about the behind-the-scenes operations of the airport, which have been illustrated using animated videos and audio clips.
Birmingham Airport worked in partnership with entertainment production company The Business Creative to create the Sky Zone areas.
Jane Maguire, director, The Business Creative, said, “Modernizing and re-launching Sky Zone has been such an exciting project. The key to ensuring its success has been to work with the feedback we gathered from parents and children about the previous play area, and combining this with the very latest technology to produce an entirely unique airport play experience.
“We discovered parents wanted more energy-burning games for younger passengers in a safe and stimulating environment. With this in mind each zone was carefully designed to ensure physical and mental skills were tested such as coordination, speed and agility.”
