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Surprises week blends knowledge with fun

DUBAI — A Knowledge Surprises Week organised by Dubai Land Department was officially opened at the Mall of the Emirates yesterday unleashing a varied mix of events spread across five shopping malls of Dubai.

The seventh theme-week of Dubai Summer Surprises opened with a scintillating show by bungee jumpers who performed to an electrified audience in the Mall of the Emirates yesterday. The popular bungee jumping troupe has previously entertained in Europe and America and was brought to Dubai for the first time to perform at the inaugural ceremony of the week.

As the week continues the Knowledge Surprises week with its unique set of activities is set to be a stimulating week for both kids and adults. All the activities will involve families and children, the organisers said.

About 19 activities will be held across five shopping malls in the emirate. In addition to in-mall activities, a series of events also takes place at Modhesh Fun City at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The Modhesh Fun City events are being held for the first time ever during Knowledge Surprises and target families especially children. The events take place every day throughout the week until Wednesday, August 9, from 4pm to 9pm.

All the activities have been designed to provide fun as well as knowledge keeping in line with the theme of the week. In addition, they present for the first time their funny and witty character "Fatfoot" that represents the measuring tool for land which in its essence is one of the main jobs of the department.

Prizes worth half a million dirhams are up for grabs during the week-long activities. There will be daily draws and for the first time in the history of the theme week big prizes such as 16 LCD TVs, 35 play stations, 12 sound systems, 12 video cameras, 28 vouchers, 175 cash vouchers, 11 laptops, 30 MP3 players, 1,000 courses in computer training, 100 free Internet memberships plus a Hummer car will be given away. The Hummer car will be the coveted prize for the final draw to take place on the last day of Knowledge Surprises week. Companies such as Etisalat, Liberty Cars, Emirates Union Cooperative and Pro-X are sponsoring major prizes during the week.

A voluntary and charitable activity will also be held via the activity " Junior Entrepreneurs" where proceeds will go to Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment, specifically to the UAE's campaign to remedy the Lebanese wounds under the slogan " their Kids are our Kids".

Six activities are being conducted in the Mall of the Emirates, which include "Junior Entrepreneurs" as well as "Sama Fatfoot" for kids that teaches children about computers, cameras and movies. Additionally, there will also be "Fatfoot City" which is a competition with different segments to test the knowledge of children and the "virtual blast" activity a technology game that consists of video games in which two teams challenge each other.

Al Ghurair Centre hosts four activities such as "Fatfoot Shagool" a game for children wherein they try and climb a pyramid after giving right answers to the questions posed to them. Another interesting event is the "Fatfoot Corner" which is a workshop for kids to dabble in the art of cinema. The participants will get to play with sound surround systems as well as sand and sticking products. The third activity is "Wonder Compound" which is a lego. It's a highly stimulating activity that helps develop children's mental skills. The final activity is "scientific booths" where children can try experimenting with science.

BurJuman hosts five activities including "World Cup" where children can play football, "Kimopoly" where children sell properties and build projects. Then there is the "Little Bankers'" workshop teaching children how to do business and then there is "Eureka" a workshop that teaches the kids theoretical science in a fun and easy way. The fifth activity at BurJuman is "Body Language" which teaches the little ones how to understand and project good body language.

The Deira City Center hosts two activities - " Fatfoot Around the World" which will enable the kids to address a crowd confidently and the second one is "Knowledge Surprise" a workshop for children which will be a mix of science, art and loads of fun. Bin Sougat Centre offers a novel activity called "Star Lab" which as the name suggests is about space.

Throughout the theme week a historical play titled 'I knew God' is being held at Modhesh Fun City.