Welcome to their city of cardboard
A company that specialises in making unusual boxes has put its creativity to the test by building a city out of cardboard.
The ‘‘box city’’ built by Packaging Products in Lower Hutt will feature at Space NZ Trust’s You and Your Child expo at Westpac Stadium, which aims to bring children and parents closer together.
The city is constructed entirely of cardboard and features archways, tunnels, cars and a house complete with shingle roof.
Packaging Products director Cameron Tooley said the brief for the city was a little out of the ordinary, but they were happy to be involved in such a fun project.
The company specialises in making industrial packaging, and the city was built by their custom box department.
While they had made boxes as large as two cubic metres and up to eight metres long, they had never been asked to make a shingle roof before, Tooley said.
‘‘It’s really given the guys a chance to get creative and to express themselves.’’
Many of the custom box team were parents and were happy to be creating something that would encourage families to spend time together.
Space NZ Trust project co-ordinator Justine Jones thought the box city was ‘‘looking fantastic’’. Kids and parents are going to love interacting with the installation, she said.
‘‘Technology has its place, but boxes are just as good. Most parents know that their children love boxes, sometimes more than the gift inside.’’
This was the first time the Space NZ Trust, which specialises in post-natal support, had hosted the You and Your Child Expo. Jones said she was looking forward to the event.
It will allow parents and kids to spend time together and learn how to get the best out of their parent-child relationship.
‘‘Life is busy and pressure on parents is pretty high so spending time having fun together can be challenging. Our intention is to offer a fun filled day.’’
Other activities include Capital E’s children’s theatre, The Playcentre Good Clean Fun Zone, The Hits Bubble Dome, a White Out Sticker Zone, Lego and The Goodtime Music Academy music buses.
As well as activities and entertainment, there will also be products and services on display and speakers such as parenting blogger Emily Writes.
The You and Your Child expo is on October 15 between 10am and 6pm. Tickets are available through Ticketek.