There’s a lot more to ice-cream than just a treat for the senses. At Legoland Malaysia Resort, children show the way, writes Meera Murugesan
CHILDREN and ice-cream. It’s a match made in heaven.
No child is ever going to refuse a cold, creamy, sweet treat but something good can also come from a moment of enjoyment.
Instead of throwing away ice-cream sticks, 246 children from various orphanages around Johor got together with Paddle Pop and Legoland Malaysia Resort to use those sticks to make a bold statement on recycling.
A total of 8,000 ice-cream sticks were used to build a huge ice-cream replica which was unveiled at Legoland Malaysia Resort on Nov 24.
The effort, dubbed the “Biggest Ice Cream Replica Built with Recyclable Materials”, earned a place in the Malaysia Book of Records.
GREEN KIDS
The replica was created in conjunction with World Children’s Day. With a focus on eco art, Paddle Pop built the frame for the ice-cream replica while the children collected the ice-creams sticks through a series of exciting games and coloured them to depict a rainbow-themed ice cream.
The replica is 3.2 metres high, 1.2 metres wide and 0.1 metres in depth.
“This year will be our third year celebrating World Children’s Day at Legoland Malaysia Resort and we are honoured that Paddle Pop and Legoland Malaysia Resort are once again joining hands to create fun and creative initiatives for kids,” says Shiv Sahgal, marketing director of foods and refreshment for Unilever (Malaysia) Holdings.
Unilever is a world leader in the ice-cream industry with several products under the Wall’s brand, including Paddle Pop.
“At Unilever, we want to unleash kids’ curiosity and activate children as sustainable role models. We hope to prompt them to consider their role in protecting the environment and we do this using eco art programmes,” adds Shiv.
This programme is not the first time Paddle Pop has engaged with kids. It has reached out to children on a national level with a strong message of how recycling is important and can be carried out in fun ways.
The building of the replica was a meaningful lesson to the children on the importance of recycling, reusing and repurposing everyday items that would otherwise be branded as trash.
Shiv says the recognition and award for the replica will further encourage kids to develop greater environmental awareness in a more holistic manner.
The record was awarded by Edwin Yeoh Tiong Chin, operations, research and marketing manager for Malaysia Book of Records.
Thila Munusamy, director of sales and marketing for Legoland Malaysia Resort, says Legoland believes that every child deserves the right to play and to grow through play.
Initiatives such as these, she says, are in line with the theme park’s role as an advocate of fun learning. It brings hope, joy and cheer to children while enabling them to explore their imagination and creativity.
During the World Children’s Day event on Nov 24, the 246 underprivileged children from orphanages who were present for the unveiling of the replica were also treated to a fun and exciting day at the theme park.