RIP CMOT

Entrance to the Children's Museum of Taipei

What is the Children’s Museum of Taipei? I’m sorry, what was the Children’s Museum of Taipei? Well, according to the CMOT English website:

 

Children’s Museum of Taipei (CMOT) was opened in December 16, 2005. It exists to serve children and families to inspire discovery and imagination through hands-on and fun exhibits and programs to stimulate curiosity and imagination, and understand and enjoy the world.

 

All 15 exhibits feature five themes: science, art, nature, culture, and toddlers’ explore. The process of playing games allows for unlimited potential for children developing their cognition capacity. No more glass-framed display cases and no more “Don’t touch” warning signs!

According to my kids, it was a wonderful place where they could drive a fire truck, go grocery shopping, make daddy a cup of coffee and a donut,  build a castle wall, make really big bubbles, and tons of other fun stuff. For me it was a place where I could just sit and watch my kids let loose, do whatever they wanted to do, and pretend to be whatever they wanted to be.

And now it’s gone.

They officially closed on November 5th after 3 years of smiles and laughs. If you ask most as to why they closed, you’ll get the obvious answer: “The economy”. I’m sure that this was a contributing factor, but in my humble opinion it wasn’t the only nail in the coffin. Part of what killed the CMOT was the local mentality of “newer is always better”. It is very rare that I talk to anyone about any major industry and get a sense of customer loyalty. It’s always what’s new, what’s right now. Enter Baby Boss (sorry, no English website), which opened about a year ago in Taipei. Was BabyBoss a competitor to the CMOT? Sure. I mean, the target market was the same and pricing was also similar. Is BabyBoss better then the CMOT was?

No.

And I say “no” not in a 1-to-1 comparative sense, but in a sense that they were different experiences. Is Disneyland better then, say, a water park? No. They provide distinctly different experiences, even though they court the same market. Different, not better.

But BabyBoss is the “new thing” in town, so it has all the business now. It’s the fashionable thing to talk about when housewives gather and compare their children. And so it will continue until the next “new thing”.

What’s the next destination endangered by not being new or ketch-fashionable enough? Quite possibly the Children’s Recreation Center. There have been rumors of it’s impending closure since early summer.

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