ProSlide’s WaterKINGDOM is establishing itself as an industry leader in the world of children’s aquatic play.
by the ProSlide team, the second in a 6-part series on WaterKINGDOM.
Parks all over the world, like Soaky Mountain Waterpark in The United States, Atlantis Sanya in China, and Six Flags Hurricane Harbour in Mexico, have all had phenomenal success with their WaterKINGDOM installations and with good reason. Their purposeful engineering, world-class design, high-performance rides make them entertaining attractions for any park’s younger guests.
But there’s more that goes into a WaterKINGDOM than just fun and entertainment. There’s also a philosophy at work that helps guide the creation of ProSlide’s WaterKINGDOM. Aquatic play, exploration, and discovery help kids develop socially, physically, emotionally, and cognitively.
How the experts informed aquatic play at ProSlide’s WaterKINGDOM
Child psychologists, therapists, and specialists have noted that play, exploration, and discovery allow children the opportunity to mimic behaviours, letting them practice what they see and develop their skills while learning new ones.
Play, exploration, and discovery create unique outlets for experimentation and opportunities to be creative, which lets them learn to interact and communicate with others.
Those in the field of child development have been clear on the benefits. In an interview with Healthline, Mayra Mendez, PhD, LMFT, a licensed psychotherapist and program coordinator at Providence Saint John’s Child and Family Development Center in Santa Monica, California, said: “Play is important because it provides a primary foundation for learning, exploring, problem-solving, and building an understanding of the world and your role within it.”
Education pioneer Maria Montessori called children “little scientists”. This refers to their eagerness to observe “what if” discoveries about their world, testing their environments to see what happens when they do something. These aquatic play principles are foundational in the design and engineering of ProSlide’s WaterKINGDOM, particularly with splash park’s and RideHOUSE.
Aquatic play – from philosophy to design
The splash park and RideHOUSE series have distinctive aspects that set them apart from the rest of WaterKINGDOM. These make them the perfect attractions to support and encourage development in young kids.
Each RideHOUSE and splash park features a completely customizable suite of water toys and interactives. These enhance the experience for kids, stimulating increased levels of aquatic play and discovery with their versatility.
Toys are the more universal aspects of a RideHOUSE or splash park that any age can enjoy, like the Rainbow Bar Jet. Interactives, like the Water Shooter, require active participation and engagement to get their full effect. Each can be enjoyed on their own or combined with others for unique results.
“They’re intentionally designed to function on multiple levels”, says Greg White, Director, Product Line Management and R&D at ProSlide.
“A luminary spray doesn’t just spray water; it also creates beautiful light shows and serves as a play space. The Team Blaster encourages cooperative play with other kids. Meanwhile, the Magnif-Eye is all about puzzle-solving and other forms of discovery.”
Visitors can also enjoy many of the toys and interactives cooperatively, in combination with others.
“Every time I visit a park, I see kids using them in ways that had never occurred to me before. They’re really only limited by their imagination.”
Keeping kids coming back
WaterKINGDOM’s limitless customization and combinations of aquatic play create unique experiences for every guest and also keep them coming back.
“For every unique experience that leaves a positive, lasting impression, there’s an increased desire to return and create a completely new experience”, says White.
“Any parent knows that if they want to have fun, the kids also need to be having fun as well. Parks with a WaterKINGDOM installed have made the choice to prioritize kids and make them a fundamental part of a great water park experience.
Tomorrow in part 3 of the series, ProSlide will also explore graduated ride experiences: from KIDZ to ICONS.
