Kids these days are always in front of screens. Smartphones, tablets, TVs, heck, even laptops—you name it. It’s no wonder adults are always looking for ways to keep kids off their gadgets.
If you’re one of those said adults, this program from Toyota Alabang might be something you should look into. It’s called the Toyota Alabang Kids Tech workshop—it’s where kids can be a Toyota technician for a day. They get to dress up in suits and join a series of activities that let them experience what it’s like to fix a vehicle and learn the modern technologies equipped in a Toyota vehicle.
The various learning stations also let kids see the mechanical aspects of Toyota cars. One of the stations includes a lesson on seatbelt and airbag operations to highlight the importance of vehicle safety. Toyota Alabang has also partnered with Cosatto car seats to show children how ISOFIX tethers work and why they’re needed in a car. There’s also a demo on manual and power windows and a showcase of the anti-jam technology equipped in Toyota’s vehicles.
There are also stations where kids can go under a car to try and change a tire using power tools—with the assistance of instructors, of course. There’s also a wiper cleaning station, a more complicated engine assembly station, and a bumper replacement station. The workshop also has a race track for remote-controlled vehicles as well as a GR racing simulator, which are said to be the most enjoyable for kids.
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The program is available only at Toyota Alabang. The pilot run was held on June 1, 2024, and the official run started on June 28. To date, there have been 30 sessions with a little over 1,000 kids graduating from the workshop.
Toyota Alabang hosts four to five sessions per month during the summer season, and only one to two per month during the course of the school year. Each session includes about 50-55 participants. All children ages 5 to 18 are eligible to join, but we’re told there can be exceptions for younger children whose parents can vouch for their ability to listen to instructions and handle the activities in the workshop.
The program fee is set at P3,500 per head, and that includes the workshop map and a photo souvenir. There are bundles available, and the prices can go up to as much as P5,900 if in case the kids want to go home with their technician suit and toolbox.
We were also able to chat with one of the masterminds behind the program, Toyota Alabang executive vice president Jocelyn Lee-Severino, to learn about how this all started. She tells us that the workshop is an inspiration from the many trips Toyota Motor Philippines has brought them to, including frequent visits to the Toyota Museum in Japan.
“We’ve encountered kids—school-aged kids—going there, learning about how Toyota started,” she shares. “And I was part of the training department of Toyota Alabang, so I was really exposed to the acculturation—the Toyota values.
“We wanted to impart that to the kids because even the quotes on the walls, we feel like it’s not too early to expose them to that. Like, autograph your work with excellence, things like that. So we wanted to make ambassadors of the children of Toyota, for Toyota.
“And it’s really something to take them away from their screens, expose them to something new, something not really typically exposed to them by their parents. And when you find a ‘kid’s tweak,’ it’s like, ‘wait, wait, don’t move too much.’
“So this is a safe zone. You explore, you tinker, and you try your hand at putting it together and dismantling it,” she adds. “And then it’s really a very good boost of their confidence, because it’s like: ‘wow, I took this out, it’s even bigger than me.’”
It really is a good program for kids to try out. To those interested, Toyota Alabang announces new schedules regularly on its Facebook page. You can go there to check it out.
More photos of the Toyota Alabang Kids Tech workshop:
