Flight over the land of milk and honey

With Bien travailler, bien s'amuser, the little Expo visitors experience a fairytale world with mythical creatures. A sweet surprise is the final touch.

The centrepiece of the Bien travailler, bien s'amuser exhibition is a children's ride with eight mythical creatures that circulate between the sky and the water. It almost seems as if the gondolas in the shape of seahorses, dragons, bats or fish are alive, because the children can partially move their animals during the ride. Each of the mythical creatures (plus the trumpeting ostrich, the two-headed hippo, the toothy snail and the sweet-toothed Chocofant) has moving parts. The train ride leads through a dream world. Above the level with the mythical creatures, birds watch over the exhibition. Downwards, the exhibition is bordered by an aquarium landscape. The glass block floor, the mirrors placed within the exhibition and the lighting constantly give the railway a new look and lead to changing impressions.

Playing and working

Before the children take their seats in pairs in one of the eight gondolas, they meet the eight mythical creatures in the reception and waiting area. They can be found in eight different pictures in different situations. The children can change these pictures by turning different knobs, so that new impressions are always created. After the work on the pictures, the fun! The highlight of the visit to Bien travailler, bien s'amuser is the ride on the children's train in one of the fabulous creatures with a view of the lake, Helix and the three towers. At the end, after getting off the gondola, the children will receive an Expo-coin which they can use at the Chocomat to choose a bar of chocolate with the mythical creature they like best.

Arteplage
Biel-Bienne

Visitor capacity per day
1'575

Total visitors
110'140

Partner
Chocosuisse (Association of Swiss Chocolate Manufacturers), Berne www.chocosuisse.ch

Project management Chocosuisse
Franz Urs Schmid

Scenography and project management
Atelier Ebinger (Willi Ebinger), Berne

Artistic design
Oskar Weiss, Muri bei Bern www.oskarweiss.ch 

Construction / Figures
Atelier Peter Seger, Ittigen www.atelierseger.ch

Railway engineering
Carrosserie Gangloff AG (Neu: Calag Carrosserie Langenthal AG), Bern www.calag.ch

Coaching Expo.02
Pidu Russek (Head)
Jacqueline Rondelli-Leist

Operations management
Philipp Kissling

^{Photos: © Philipp Zanatta; DVD Generation.02; are still missing - send us yours! expo.02(at)ex-expo.ch}