OC Day Trip: Work, play, learning intersect at Pretend City children’s museum
Andrew Xavier Barraza lay on a thin cot on the floor of Pretend City.
The 6-year-old from Monrovia remained there momentarily, smiling, before moving over to a nearby table to examine a plastic bowl of fake noodles. Then he put his name on a piece of paper and sent it up in a pneumatic tube to a cage containing similar notes, signifying a Korean tradition of people letting go of their stresses.
“My favorite part was going to the Korean place,” Andrew said of his recent trip to the children’s museum in Irvine. “It had the couches and beds like in Korea. The Korean bed wasn’t comfy because it didn’t have a pillow. I was laying on the floor. I learned Koreans laid on the floor.”
The “Heart & Seoul: Growing Up in Korea” exhibit, presented by the Freeman Foundation, is on display at Pretend City through Sept. 7. It is the traveling exhibit’s first stop.
But that is far from all that can be seen at the museum in Irvine, which offers nearly 20 play exhibits that encourage children to let their imaginations run wild in “purposeful play, hands-on learning experiences, role playing and educational programming,” as the website for the museum, which opened in August 2009, says.
At Pretend City, which is just what the title implies, children learn about community and what part they can play in it. Through visits to replicas of Orange County landmarks, like the Orange Circle and Laguna Art Museum, kids up to age 9 or so can take on roles like chef and firefighter. At each employment opportunity, they fill out a timecard, which they can exchange for pretend cash at the end of their visit.
“We’re very different than a Chuck E. Cheese or other kids’ places,” said Leslie Perovich, senior director of advancement. “This is all about using your imagination, being creative and really putting some thought into being different. We are not a bounce house. This is a very different experience, and there’s a lot of learning going on here.”
The museum was founded by Sandy Stone and Alex Airth, who no longer work directly for Pretend City but still sit on its board. The women had visited children’s museums around the country and decided Irvine needed one.
“Raising children to become contributing, responsible, compassionate citizens isn’t easy,” Stone said. “What we feed our children emotionally, physically, spiritually and academically shapes their future.”
Popular exhibits include a health center, where children can take on the professions of doctors and dentists and perform pretend medical procedures, and a play cafe, which has changing kinds of plastic foods.
Of course the children don’t eat the pretend sustenance, but interacting with the different presentations will make them comfortable around new real dishes, Perovich said.
“It gives us a chance to introduce different cultures and different foods to kids,” Perovich said. “They can kind of experiment here and be encouraged to try new kinds of foods.”
Diversity is key at Pretend City. In one exhibit, a different kind of family is featured in a makeshift home each quarter so children can learn to accept all types of family structures.
These have included families with same-sex and single parents. The current display is a health-conscious family in a house that has recycling bins, vegetarian food and water-saving toilets. While there are no actors or animatronics in the home, a cartoon family on the television screen gives the kids tips as they walk about.
The museum strives to avoid technology wherever possible so children can get back to simple play using their imaginations.
“Sitting in front of the computer doesn’t get kids the same experience,” said Perovich.
The temporary Korean area is the exception. It includes interactive technology like cellphones and an animation center.
In the exhibit, children can also see what Korean living spaces look like, dance like a Korean pop star and pretend to eat Korean food, like short ribs and kimchi. An instructor on a television shows children how to perform taekwondo moves, and the children can wear real taekwondo uniforms as they mimic the moves shown on screen.
Andrew’s mother, Shannon Waddell, 36, said she enjoyed visiting a place where her son could learn so much.
“I think it’s awesome that everything was kid-friendly and he was just able to let his imagination go,” she said. “He really enjoyed it, and I can’t wait to go back.”
*
IF YOU GO
What: Pretend City
Where: 29 Hubble, Irvine
When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays
Cost: $12.50 for all ages, except children under 12 months, who are free
Information: (949) 428-3900 or pretendcity.org