What are the Challenges You’ve Faced with your Current Kids Zone?
When we set out to create a kids zone for fairs we started by asking fair managers a lot of questions. The most important question we asked was, “What have been the challenges you’ve faced with your current kids’ zone?”
The answers we received gave us a deep insight into what fairs wanted and how we could help them.
Challenge #1: Fairs Want to Include the Whole Family.
We heard it over and over again. Kid zones in the fair industry seem to be great for the 6 and under crowd but tend to fall short for older siblings, parents and grand-parents. Fairs want to create an area that is fun for all ages with experiences that engage 2-year-olds to 100-year-olds.
Challenge #2: Fairs Want Unique Experiences for Their Guests.
As we looked around the industry we noticed a number of other kid zone providers. Their exhibits included everything from giant games to a variety of activities. The problem was fairs were realizing they’d spent $10,000, $15,000 even $25,000 or more for games that they themselves could have ordered on Amazon. This had fairs questioning the value they were getting for their money.
Challenge #3: Fairs Wanted to Stay Close to the Agricultural Roots.
A fair’s primary mission is to support agricultural education. Our communities have almost no idea where their food comes from. Ask a school-aged child where ham comes from and they’ll tell you, “the grocery store.” Was there a way to create an attraction that was fun and taught about farming & ranching?
Challenge #4: Fairs Were Sold a Bill of Goods on “STEM” Zones.
We asked fair managers and board members specifically about their feelings on “STEM” exhibits. One fair after another conveyed their frustration. They spent enormous sums of money for STEM exhibits. But when you look at marketing materials what you saw was the term, “STEM-based” which implies STEM education but fails to deliver it. In many cases it was nothing more than buckets of LEGO bricks and a wall to stick them on. Fairs were wising up to the bill-of-goods they’d been sold. It wasn’t really STEM. It was “STEM-based” marketing.
Challenge #5: Fairs Need Accessible Experiences.
Have you ever experienced a fair or theme park from a mobility scooter? In some cases it can still be extraordinarily frustrating. While fairgrounds themselves have spent millions to bring buildings up to modern code and provide access to guests with disabilities, we discovered a number of kid zone attractions that were not accessible.
To recap, fairs wanted a fun zone area that would be fun for all ages and feature accessible, unique experiences that would support their mission of farming & ranching education. Could we create a better kids zone for fairs?
Ladies & gentlemen, this is the Play with Giants AG Edition.
A game & activity fun zone.
Taking all the information we’d heard from fair managers and fair board members and adding in some of our own magic, we created an incredible attraction that will be a hit at your fair.
Solution #1: All Ages Fun.
We gave careful consideration to the types of games and activities that would be fun for toddlers all the way to grand parents.
Solution #2 & #3: Unique Games & Activities with a Farming & Ranching Theme.
Knowing fairs wanted unique experiences, we designed and hand crafted nearly every experience within Play with Giants. Not only are they hand made, so you can’t just buy them at Walmart, every activity is farming & ranching themed. This helps support ag education at your fair.
We even created an entire exhibit based solely on that fair’s state. Whether you’re in Arizona, Iowa, Florida, Texas or any of our nifty-fifty, we’ve created an activity center for you. Our hand-made and hand-painted puzzle center comes complete with full color images of ag items from your state as well as relevant facts about those products in both English and Spanish.
Solution #4: Skip the “STEM-based” marketing gimmick. Stick with Farming & Ranching Education.
We sensed the displeasure from some fair personnel about so-called “STEM-based” exhibits. We opted instead to support fairs with agricultural education. But we do it through play. With varying levels of educational engagement, there’s something fun to learn throughout the Play with Giants activity zone.
Solution #5: Make it Accessible.
So how does a guest who requires a mobility scooter climb down on the floor to play a matching game? What about moving their wheel chair around a giant chess board when they can’t access the pieces? You can imagine the challenge that presents.
We know that guests of all ability levels attend our fairs. Taking care to ensure our exhibit is as accessible as possible is important to us and we hope it’s important to you.
Beating Expectations.
It would take more to create a better kids zone. So we set a goal to beat expectations.
Increase Length-of-Stay.
If you can get guests to stay an average of 30 additional minutes, that translates to increased revenues for exhibit hall vendors, concessionaires and the carnival.
Keep Mom Happy.
The primary decision maker for a day at the fair is mom. Keep her happy. Make life easy for her. Play with Giants accomplishes both. Mom gets to take a break and catch her breath while the kids play games. When she’s ready she’ll enjoy playing games with the family.
Revitalize Buildings & Support the Vendors.
So many fairs have that one building that fair managers and their board members struggle to keep busy. In our experience at several fairs including the San Juan County Fair (N. Mex), the Verde Valley Fair (Ariz.) and the Greater Jacksonville Ag Fair (Florida), Play with Giants can actually help boost traffic into a building. Not only does this revitalize buildings it can help increase revenue for indoor vendors as well.
“By reconfiguring the building layout and bringing in Play With Giants, this year was the busiest our expo building has been. Having an exhibit like Play With Giants open all day is a real benefit for the fair-goers and increased the time they spent inside of the building.
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Keep it Professional.
Play with Giants is professionally staffed. We keep the games set up and ready to play and the area clean and inviting.
Create a Sponsorship Opportunity.
You can put a sponsor on just about anything. But what happens when the attraction has a built in, unique sponsorship opportunity? Play with Giants does exactly that. We talk about it here.
Customized Space.
Finally, we know fairgrounds come in all shapes & sizes. So we can create a customized exhibit to fit within the space in your building. If you provide cover, we can even set up outdoors.
Play with Giants is the Activity Zone You’ve Been Waiting for.
There’s plenty of choices in our industry when it comes to activity & fun zones. Not better choices. Just other choices. We’re happy to offer an attraction that will be a hit at your fair.