Selina Kong on creating a space for children to learn through play

With quarantine restrictions in place, many Hong Kongers are staying in the city over the summer. If you’re wondering how to keep the kids entertained, The Big Things, a themed playground located in The Mills in Tsuen Wan, makes a great day out for the whole family. We meet founder Selina Kong, who shares how the playground can keep everyone happy and busy over the holidays.

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Inspired by family

When Kong had her daughter Scarlett, she travelled with her a lot and spent much of their time in playgrounds and parks. As a mum, she always felt that it would be wonderful if there was a playground centred around nature. In Hong Kong, it’s difficult for young children to explore wildlife. As a solution, she created The Big Things playground which encourages child development through play and uses sustainable materials in an effort to be environmentally friendly. Her cooking studio soon followed, serving creative Asian comfort food.

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The importance of play

Kong believes that play is essential to a child’s development, which was why she created a space where play, discovery and creativity are fostered in a healthy, eco-conscious and enjoyable environment. The Big Things offers different education programmes, such as Kids Science and MasterChef Academy, which reflects the spirit of the famous TV show.

“What makes our cooking programmes unique is the fact that our students cook all the dishes from scratch,” says Kong. “For example, when making seafood chowder, we teach everything from how to choose the right fish and deboning it, followed by how to create a delicious chowder with pan-fried fish fillet.” She reports that so far, the classes have proven to be very popular with both kids and adults.

Read more: Best cooking classes for kids in Hong Kong

Staying positive

With the global pandemic, the last six months have been very challenging. “With everyone spending more time together in small spaces, it’s important to keep things varied and get outside as much as possible,” says Kong. “Keeping busy and active will help to create a positive mindset.” In an effort to maintain safety, Kong and her team at The Big Things closed the playground for a month during the coronavirus outbreak. They also increased their sanitary procedures to make sure that upon reopening, families were protected as much as possible.

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That’s not to say that time was wasted – the team utilised the time that the playground was closed to launch their healthy bento delivery service. “This has been a very exciting process and couldn’t be more relevant to people’s lives right now since health is so important,” says Kong.

The Big Things, Shop 205-207, 2/F, The Mills, 45 Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan, 6292 1808