Melbourne Airport in Australia has unveiled a children’s playground as part of its renovated retail and dining precinct in Terminal 2, the airport’s international terminal.
Developed in partnership with children’s entertainment specialist Innovative Retail, the play space includes a rope-climbing structure to help children develop their hand-eye coordination, as well as a line of sculptural connected cubes designed for children to create their own fun through non-prescriptive play. The new playground is located at Gate 11 in the T2 food-and-beverage precinct.
Andrew Gardiner, chief of retail at Melbourne Airport, said, “We are committed to continually improving traveler experience at the airport. With more families traveling with children at Christmas time than at any other time of the year, it’s great to be able to provide an innovative play space to keep youngsters entertained while their parents relax in our brand-new retail and dining precinct at T2.”
Dale Smorgon, CEO of Innovative Retail, said, “We’ve worked closely with Melbourne Airport to deliver a colorful and engaging play space that seamlessly fits within the terminal, as well as catering to the needs of families and children traveling at Christmas time and throughout the year.
“This is the second playground we’ve created for an airport in Australia, and the first to include a rope-climbing structure. We are seeing a growing trend for airports and shopping centers alike looking for solutions to support families. Our recent research found that 90% of shoppers agreed that having play facilities to entertain children at shopping centers enhanced the overall experience in the center.”