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Okinawa’s new STEM Resort educational play center now open, is a kid’s colorful dreamland

Dale Roll Jul 24, 2020
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Need a place in Okinawa to bring your kids? This is it!

If you’re a parent, there’s something new to do with your kids in Okinawa this summer, and it doesn’t involve swimming in the ocean. Try taking your kids to STEM Resort -Creative Playland- in Tomigusuku City, just south of the island’s capital of Naha. They’ll love the creative, educational fun they’ll have there!

STEM Resort is a rooftop theme park and restaurant that just opened up on July 19 on the roof of the iias Okinawa Toyosaki shopping center in the Toyosaki area of Tomigusuku City. Designed by playground designer Kosei Kajioka, it was created with the theme of “learning through playing”, and uses digital and physical mediums to create an artistic space that operates simultaneously as a cafe/eatery, play area, and museum.

In addition to over 30 great photo spots, there will be three themed areas for kids and families to enjoy. The first area is known as the “Hitasura Kawaii Museum”, or “wholeheartedly cute museum”. Filled with lots of colorful, zany designs, including plenty of pink, it’s got multiple rooms where kids can enjoy all kinds of activities that will stimulate their creativity.

One room is a dance studio, which has a wall that is made up entirely of an LED display, where kids can dance to music as if they are a star in their very own music video.

There is also an indoor, educational playground where kids can climb and play on various kinds of equipment, plus a giant ball pit and a stuffed animal pool. One wall of this room is made entirely of mirrors, which will lead to all kinds of fun for kids.

Another room in the Hitasura Kawaii Museum has a 360-degree projection mapping system that projects amazing designs on the walls. Sensors react to your body movements, letting you interact with and immerse yourself in the space completely. This room, with its music, lights, and many sensory experiences, stimulates the senses of its visitors and aims to expand their creativity.

There’s also an area filled with garden lanterns that gradually change as time passes, a room with mirror walls and a crystal LED light show, and a 3-D hologram area that uses the latest technology, so there’s plenty for kids to look at and do! To be honest, adults will probably be thoroughly entertained, too.

And that’s just inside the Hitasura Kawaii Museum! STEM Resort also has two other areas: the Dinosaur Museum and the Cozy Rooftop Bar. The Dinosaur Museum is an outdoor space where you can meet over 50 kinds of dinosaurs, and includes a barbecue area where groups can rent tables and enjoy a picnic together. There’s even a large splash pool set up in the summer.

The Cozy Rooftop Bar is more for the parents, who can enjoy live music, drinks and food as they watch the sun set over Churasan Beach. The bar includes a beer garden and a lounge, so this might be a great place to come for a date night without the kids too.

Admission to each of the areas is separate, and if you want to go, you’ll save money by booking your tickets ahead of time on the STEM Resort website. Okinawa residents will also receive a rebate, so be sure to show proof of residency when buying your tickets.

This sounds like a super fun place to bring your kids, but if you can’t travel to Okinawa right now, there are some great options on the mainland. Try Small Worlds Tokyo, a miniature world theme park, which also just opened recently. And of course, there’s always Sanrio Puroland and Tokyo Disney!

Park Information
STEM Resort -Creativity Grounds- / STEM RESORT-創造的遊場-
Okinawa Tomigusuku City Toyosaki 3-35 iias OKINAWA TOYOSAKI rooftop
沖縄県豊見城市豊崎3-35 イーアス沖縄豊崎屋上4F
Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Hitasura Kawaii Museum), 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Dinosaur Museum and Cozy Rooftop Bar)
Website

Source, images: @Press (1, 2, 3)
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