Dream City re-opens

By Jack Hayes

Dream City at DFO South Wharf has re-opened its doors for the first time since early 2020 after further relaxation of public health restrictions by the state government.

The “edutainment theme park”, founded in late-2019, enables children aged from three to 16 with access to career-based educational activities ranging from operating flight simulators, fighting virtual fires, performing surgery and producing podcasts.

Dream City founder, Kajal Pala, admitted although the large parts of 2020 had been trying for herself and her team, there had been a number of silver linings to come from the forced closure.

“It was very challenging after having such a great response and feedback from schools and parents. We took this break as an opportunity for us to work with that feedback and refine what we do at Dream City to make it the best experience it can be,” Ms Pala said.

“We used the time to create a brand-new sports-science zone, which includes an indoor dream court and other educational sports activities. Due to restrictions, we had to build the new zone off-site, with only a few minor additions still needed. The response so far has been amazing.”

“We have also decided to include an option for parents of older children to drop off their kids and go shopping while their children are enjoying the activities.”

Spearheading the re-opening alongside Ms Pala is CEO Dean Sholl, creative director Scott Bull, head of education Michelle Hortle, head of technology Wade Dinnie and a range of expert educators.

While adding new educational experiences to the slate at Dream City, Ms Pala and her team also spent the period of closure upgrading and refurbishing existing technology at Dream City to ensure the best possible experience for children and educators alike.

“We’ve had a great response so far from both parents and children, which have been reflected in some promising Net Promoter Scores (NPS),” Ms Pala said.

“In the coming months, we will also add extended session times to our usual two-hour sessions.” •

For more information: dreamcity.com.au