Old games become new again

Pearlridge Center’s "e-magine fun!" exhibit opening Saturday promises to offer a mix of old-fashioned fun and electronic-influenced entertainment.

The hands-on exhibit offers kids the opportunity to play checkers on an oversize board, while Euro­bungy lets kids soar above the mall’s shoppers on a hybrid bungee-trampoline.

Offering summer exhibits is a long-standing tradition at Pearlridge Center, according to marketing director Kelly Kaui­nana. This year the center was eager to offer an exhibit that was new and different, so she enlisted Tom Cleavinger, president of Michigan-based Creative RT, which sets up exhibitions for malls.

Cleavinger brought the popular butterflies exhibit to Pearlridge in the spring.

"It’s summertime, and families are looking for something fun to do," said Cleavinger. "Beyond fun we’re always about how do we educate and at least get your mind turning. Today’s kids are so focused on their screens all the time. We’re trying to offer activities that will grab their interest while bringing back the classics that adults remember."

For instance, there are popular board games presented with a new twist — a checkers game on a 10-by-10-foot checkerboard and giant floor puzzles inspired by such artists as Picasso.

In an effort to bring games off the screen and into the physical arena, the exhibit is offering Eyeplay Interactive Gaming, in which a 15-foot soccer field or hockey rink is projected on the floor. Participants kick a soccer ball, also projected, around the field.

In the Robotic Play Zone, participants control robots via apps on an iPad mini through a real-life obstacle course similar to a skateboard park, with ramps, half-pipes and tunnels. The iPad minis will be provided for players.

The Rope Maze is a physical maze in which participants, clipped to a Carabiner, make their way over or under ropes to find their way out. Eurobungy allows participants to jump on a trampoline and do forward and backward flips aided by a harness.

Pearlridge Center is the first place in the islands to pre­sent this exhibit before it makes its way to mainland destinations.