Gwangju Dong-gu Operates 'Visiting Mobile Safety Experience Center' for Infants and Toddlers

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 23rd that the Dong-gu Childcare Comprehensive Support Center (hereinafter referred to as the Center) will operate the ‘Visiting Mobile Safety Experience Center,’ a program combining play and hands-on activities for infants and toddlers.

The ‘Visiting Mobile Safety Experience Center’ is an experiential program hosted by the Childcare Safety Mutual Aid Association and sponsored by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Dong-gu was selected as a participating institution to operate the program.

Since the 21st, the Center has been conducting the ‘Visiting Mobile Safety Experience Center’ education for about 540 children from 55 daycare centers in the district over six days at Neoritjae Preschool Forest Park.

This education program was prepared to provide safety education through hands-on experiences so that infants and toddlers can easily understand and acquire safety knowledge, respond to safety accidents that may occur in daily life, and develop safe living habits.

In particular, the program is being conducted while strictly adhering to COVID-19 prevention guidelines, such as minimizing the number of participants during the education period, and thorough preparations have been made to ensure a safe experience in an open outdoor space.

The VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) experience center, converted from a 5-ton vehicle, offers ‘earthquake experience education’ where children learn evacuation procedures through videos and vividly experience actual situations using a shaking earthquake platform.

At the outdoor booths, traffic safety education tailored to children’s eye level, vehicle accident prevention education, and bicycle protective gear wearing experiences are conducted, stimulating children’s curiosity and receiving great responses.

A teacher from a participating daycare center said, “It was a very beneficial time to indirectly experience real situations suitable for children’s levels, such as the earthquake experience,” and added, “I hope there will be frequent opportunities to raise safety awareness among growing children.”

Im Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, said, “I hope this will be an opportunity for children to experience safety education against various disasters and accidents that have been occurring frequently recently and acquire safety skills from an early age,” and added, “We will continue to support in various ways to create a safe Dong-gu where not only children but all residents can live with peace of mind.”