With over 600,000 students taught globally, Meeta Suraiya brings her creative mastery to KidZania’s immersive edutainment city.
KidZania has introduced yet another creative milestone in its edutainment journey with the launch of an immersive pottery and art studio in partnership with Meetakriti Art Studio. This initiative at KidZania Mumbai is designed to offer children a meaningful gateway into the world of artistic professions through experiential learning. Helmed by gold-medalist sculptor and celebrated art educator Meeta Suraiya, the newly introduced Meetakriti Pottery Studio allows young visitors to engage in hands-on clay modeling and creative expression, connecting traditional artistry with future-forward learning. The role-play studio presents children with a chance to act as potters and artists within a fully simulated creative environment, where shaping clay becomes a bridge to discovering patience, self-expression, and tangible skills that translate into real-world opportunities.
KidZania, founded in Mexico City in 1999 by Xavier López Ancona, has long been a pioneer in experiential education through role-play. Operating like a fully functioning mini-city with its own currency, infrastructure, and economy, KidZania creates real-life simulations where children aged 4 to 16 explore careers and life skills in a safe, guided environment. With a global presence in 27 cities across 21 countries, including London, Tokyo, Seoul, and Dubai, KidZania is recognized as a leader in blending purposeful play with meaningful development. Its India operations began with the launch of KidZania Mumbai in 2013, followed by the Delhi NCR location in 2016.
This new pottery experience was conceptualized in collaboration with Meeta Suraiya, founder of Meetakriti Art Studio, whose mission has been to use art as a tool for emotional intelligence, cognitive growth, and career empowerment. With over 20 years of experience and more than 600,000 children taught across India, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, Meeta Suraiya brings unmatched artistic and pedagogical expertise to the KidZania setup. Her approach emphasizes the value of slow, focused, tactile activities like pottery as a means of nurturing mindfulness and creative autonomy among children. Her workshops are known for their use of eco-friendly terracotta, safe paints, and biodegradable materials, reinforcing the need for sustainability in artistic practice.
Children stepping into the Meetakriti Pottery Studio at KidZania Mumbai are invited to sit at an electric wheel and shape raw terracotta clay into functional and decorative pieces. They also paint their creations, learning techniques related to glazing and texture. Before the hands-on session begins, an introductory video walks them through the world of pottery, the significance of eco-conscious material choices, and the profession’s place in the modern creative economy. This is not just about play this is an early encounter with the wider ecosystem of artistic careers including ceramics, sculpture, product design, industrial arts, and even art therapy. Through this experience, children gain exposure to the discipline, patience, and technical focus required to succeed in creative professions.
According to Harvard Graduate School of Education, hands-on learning significantly improves memory retention, emotional resilience, and problem-solving skills in children. The KidZania-Meetakriti partnership leverages these findings by offering an experience that not only teaches artistic technique but also builds emotional and mental flexibility. Activities like shaping clay and painting detailed motifs train children in hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. Simultaneously, they reinforce focus, self-discipline, and a sense of achievement essential life skills that transfer into any professional or personal path. The studio experience is designed to foster personal accomplishment, with each child taking home their handmade piece, instilling pride and strengthening self-worth.
This experience further aligns with KidZania’s “learn by doing” philosophy, where every activity is deeply rooted in real-world logic. The pottery studio joins over 100 other career simulations available at KidZania including pilot training, journalism, healthcare, retail operations, and culinary arts. These are supported by what KidZania calls “purpose partners”, wherein real brands and institutions participate in the co-creation of authentic, high-value engagements. In this case, Meetakriti Art Studio becomes not just a partner but a knowledge ecosystem, helping children explore creativity as a pathway to livelihood, self-awareness, and social responsibility.
Tarandeep Singh Sekhon, Chief Business Officer at KidZania India, reiterated the impact of this collaboration by emphasizing the role of art in early education. He stated that this studio would not only ignite creative thinking but would also allow children to see how imagination can be converted into viable professional paths. Sekhon confirmed that due to the overwhelming response at KidZania Mumbai, plans are already underway to launch the Meetakriti Art Studio at KidZania Delhi NCR in the upcoming months.
This initiative arrives at a crucial juncture when edutainment is gaining global traction as a preferred method of learning. According to market data from Statista, the global edutainment industry is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 12.4%, reaching USD 15.2 billion by 2027. Brands like Lego Education, Discovery Education, and National Geographic Education are already investing heavily in cross-disciplinary programs that incorporate art, sustainability, and STEM.
Meeta Suraiya’s commitment to education goes beyond the surface of clay. Her practice is informed by elements of neuroscience, child psychology, and inclusive learning. Her pedagogy is inclusive and non-competitive, encouraging children to value process over product. Her presence within KidZania brings a layer of intentionality to the edutainment format, showcasing that artistic skill is not ancillary but central to a child’s well-rounded growth.
This collaboration between KidZania and Meetakriti has also inspired conversations among educators, parents, and creative professionals about the relevance of introducing non-conventional career pathways to children from a young age. By making careers in design, art, and sustainability visible and approachable, the experience challenges traditional career hierarchies and promotes vocational diversity in early development.
KidZania continues to stand as a forward-thinking platform for real-world education. With its network of purpose-led collaborations and content-rich experiences, it goes beyond textbook learning to nurture curiosity, capability, and community spirit among the next generation. This latest pottery experience is a testament to that vision one where children are no longer just role-playing for entertainment, but stepping into the future with clay-covered hands, mindful expressions, and the seed of creative careers planted early.
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