"Kids can fly high - inside the airport"

Friday, October 20, 2006

Kids can fly high - inside the airport 
By Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli
USA TODAY


As more parents travel with youngsters in tow, airports increasingly are
discovering the benefits of designated play areas. At least 40 now have such
facilities, and more are cropping up each month.

At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, for example, nearly 38,000
children - or 18% of passengers - pass through each day, spokeswoman Wendy
Abrams says. So airports nationwide are loading up on features kids love:
funky moving walkways, flashing lights and music. And relieved parents have
discovered that letting kids climb on giant slabs of bacon and fried eggs,
ride oversized foam cars or pretend to be pilots, ticket agents and
air-traffic controllers can keep them entertained for long stretches.

"Airports are much more savvy about their customers and what they need to do
to reduce stress," says Joanne Paternoster, a consultant for Maritz Research
of St. Louis. 

"A lot of airports are creating different zones for different customers.
There are quiet areas with couches like at Starbucks. There are areas for
the business travelers with work stations and wireless access. And there are
areas for kids, giving them useful things to do."

The strategy worked for Russ Thomas of Little Rock, who recently returned
from a trip to Moscow with his 4-year-old daughter, Nina. He describes the
30-hour trip as "a brutal weekend" made easier by play areas there and in
Chicago. 

"She had a blast," he says. "She could bear it with the promise of going
back to the play area. I bought an American Airlines club membership to get
into the lounges but never use it because she loves climbing on those pieces
of plastic. Kids go crazy on them."

Play areas also provide sanity for the rest of the airport. 

"These areas are not just for the kids," he says. "The business traveler is
the last one who wants a kid spilling a Coke on him."

Aviation themes are popular, and several airports have poured considerable
resources into creating elaborate, customized play areas. 

The play area at O'Hare ranks among favorites. Kids on the Fly, which was
developed a decade ago by the Chicago Children's Museum and the Chicago
Department of Aviation, has become a model for the airport play concept.

Located in Terminal 2 but closed until Nov. 3 for upgrading, the renovated
area is expected to attract an additional 9,000 children, up from 227,000 a
year ago. Complete with a two-story control tower, airplane with cockpit and
cargo hold, luggage slide and ticket counter, it helps pint-size travelers
understand the air-travel experience.

At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, two playgrounds came with a
$200,000 price tag. 

The decor includes seating made to look like supersized suitcases, brightly
colored hand-painted skylines of the area, and - of course - a climb-on mock
airplane and air-traffic control tower. 

"We didn't want a typical play area with manufactured parts, and we wanted
to keep our designers local," says Jana Vaughn, executive director of the
Minneapolis Metropolitan Public Airport Foundation. "What we have is a work
of art: custom-made airplanes and control tower made of wood and molded
fiberglass."

Designer Blue Rhino Studio of Bloomington, Minn., had to follow strict
building codes.

"We wanted it to be much more interactive," Vaughn says. "But due to safety
concerns, we had to change many of our design ideas. There are material
restrictions, height restrictions."

And some ideas were changed once kids started using the areas, such as the
cockpit microphone. 

When children started yelling things such as "poopy pants" throughout the
airport, the live microphone option was discontinued. 

"Parents need a place to relax, and the children need a place to expend
energy," Vaughn says. "That's the biggest gift we can give."

  LET THEM SPREAD THEIR WINGS 
 
A sampling of play areas at other airports: 

Boston Logan International Kidport (terminals A and C) includes the popular
airplane and baggage-claim slide and a private area for nursing mothers.

Cleveland Hopkins International (concourses A, C, D) has climbing mountains,
playhouses and an interactive nutrition and health display (Concourse D).

Dallas/Fort Worth International unveiled two Junior Flyer's Clubs (terminals
B and C) over the summer. Sponsored by Pepsi, the areas feature mock
runways, bridges, cars, planes and padded floors.

Fresno Yosemite's only concourse has two small areas with modular play
centers, rocket ship and helicopter. 

McCarran International Las Vegas (Concourse D, Level 2) has an interactive
control tower and mock jet engine.

Nashville International (concourse connector between C/D and A/B) stocks
rocking chairs, Lego spaceships and play castles.

Philadelphia International's Please Touch Aviation Station (adjacent to Gate
D-10) teaches young pilots-in-training, using hand controls that activate a
spinning propeller.

Salt Lake City International (concourses A, B, E) stocks easels and
chalkboards, plastic foam cars and airplanes and a Hansel and Gretel
playhouse. 

San Francisco International (Terminal 3) boasts a color-shooting plasma wall
activated by clapping hands, climbing toys and interactive exploration.

San Jose International's Kidport (Terminal C main lobby) lets kids listen on
special headsets to actual air traffic controllers' conversations with
pilots.

Attached Photo:

In Minneapolis-St. Paul: Gillian Burke, 5, left, and Gannon Burke, 8, of
Canton, Ga., have fun in the concourse playground during a stopover between
flights. The airport built two playgrounds for $200,000.

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