Safetyville USA
Safetyville, USA is a traffic park and miniature city that spans a little over 3 acres of land in Sacramento, California. It is a program designed to provide safety education to young children in an interactive manner. The miniature town features scaled-down replicas of the California State Capitol building, municipal building, business buildings, and various streets in Sacramento, California.
Founding
Safetyville, USA is part of the non-profit Safety Center, Inc.'s Children's Safety Program, which provides life-saving safety skills and awareness education. The one-third scale town features real sidewalks, crosswalks, streetlights, a police, fire and sheriff station, and businesses commonly found in any city, including McDonald's and Taco Bell. In June 1998, Dick Cable, a professional broadcaster for KXTV, became the Honorary Mayor of Safetyville. Cable was the first Sacramento broadcaster to win an Emmy award.Goals
The goal of the Safetyville program is to reduce injury and potential deaths of children from preventable accidents. The program aims to provide a hands-on, interactive experience rather than overwhelming children with information through traditional classroom education methods. Trained volunteer tour guides lead children, ranging from preschool age to third grade, through the miniature city. The children are taught health and fitness, and a variety of safety skills including fire safety, bicycle safety, pedestrian safety, electrical safety, stranger danger, and railroad safety. In 2009, Safetyville, USA celebrated its 25th anniversary, and over 200,000 Northern California children had already benefited from this educational experience provided by the child safety program. Approximately 10,000 children visit Safetyville, USA each year.Hands on experience
The hands-on experience at Safetyville includes pushing buttons and learning to look both ways before crossing the street using the working street lights and crosswalk lights. Before watching a video at the "fire station," the tour guide engages the children by asking questions, and there is a "quiz" after the video. There are many opportunities for questions and answers, as well as opportunities for child volunteers to help throughout the tour. Additionally, the children are taught how to make a real 911 call, and they practice dialing the correct number and how to communicate with a 911 operator. They are also taught the "stop, drop, and roll" technique during the fire safety portion of the session, and they have the chance to practice the technique on the spot.Events
Safetyville, USA sponsors many events throughout the year, including "Halloween Haunt," "Safetyville Family Health and Safety Expo," "Taste of the Little City," and in October 2012 hosted the annual "Fire Fighter Chili Cook-off." Safetyville also has a child 'Mayor of Safetyville' who presides at the "Halloween Haunt" and "Safetyville Family Health and Safety Expo."