PlayLab of MAR Shopping Matosinhos is already open

PlayLab will feature countless activities and aims to encourage and inspire parents and children to play more as a family

The meeting places MAR Shopping Algarve and MAR Shopping Matosinhos, launch in early October a global campaign by Ingka Centres, aiming to encourage and inspire parents and children to spend more time together. This campaign will enable parents to find creative ways to be together as a family, while stimulating their skills and having fun experiences. The campaign runs throughout the month of October.

The launch of this initiative comes at a time when new research from Ingka Centres reveals that over half of Portuguese parents (64%) spend less than four hours a week playing with their children and 15% of parents have not played with their children for two or more days, or cannot remember the last time they did.

PlayLab Timetable

MAR Shopping Matosinhos' PlayLab will be in the atrium, level 0, from 3 to 23 October, from Monday to Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

In the Playlab, there will be activities such as Illusion and Movement, a display with a set of optical illusions with movement; Illusions and Perception, an exhibition of images that challenge the perception of the observer, either by apparently impossible perspectives or by possible duality of reading; Puzzle, a display with different riddles, riddles and puzzles that can be unravelled between parents and children Shadow Games using lamps with primary colours where visitors can explore their projected shadows and the colours derived from their superimposition; Animal Scale, where visitors can compare their size with that of marine animals and also an Antigravity space literally turned upside down which serves as a solution for them to experience the world upside down, in which a child's room totally furnished by IKEA Matosinhos was recreated.

There will also be space for the Discover Science workshops which are totally dedicated to experiments and discoveries. These workshops are aimed at children aged 3 to 12 years old. The experiments are divided into three groups (chemical, physical and optical reactions).

Those who cannot make it to the PlayLab are invited to try the VR Kit online at home. The kits are very intuitive and can be used to explore a library of free virtual reality experiences to use on a smartphone

"As the meeting place that we are, we like to welcome families so that they can spend their time in the best way. We believe that playing is essential, both for the child, as it functions as a rehearsal about the world where they can develop and broaden their perceptions of the universe, and for parents, who end up originating a moment to form bonds and be participatory in their children's lives, also relieving the worries of everyday life," says Ana Machado, Communication Business Partner at Ingka Centres in Portugal.