Ex-Lawyer Creates Virtual Theme Park with Educational Component
A former international trade lawyer has created a new website called Wonder Rotunda where children compete to win virtual food and products by correctly answering quiz questions.
The website, modeled after a theme park, is based on lawyer Eric Garfinkel’s memories of his visits to the 1964 World’s Fair, the Washington Post reports. The Post writer’s 8-year-old stepson tried the site. “I’m not sure whether he’ll be playing next week,” the story says, “but for now he’s intrigued enough to sit still through discussions about how the human digestive system works and which presidents appear on U.S. currency.”
The site has no ads but it costs $45 for a yearlong “park pass.” Garfinkel said he hired an animation team and a programmer to design the site, but he was “chef, cook and bottle washer for this project.”
Garfinkel left a career in law and public service in 1992 to start a company called Basic Toys, the story says. The idea was to bring back classic toys such as Raggedy Ann and Lincoln Logs. He sold the company to Amazon.com for an undisclosed sum in 1999.
Observers questioned whether Garfinkel’s new venture would be successful. Chris Byrne, an independent toy industry analyst, told the Post that the site faces an uphill battle. He pointed to one virtual ride called the Healthy Eating Super Coaster and wondered whether kids would be interested.
“There’s a reason Candy Land is Candy Land and not Vegetable Valley,” he told the Post.
