ORLANDO, Fla. – Give Kids The World Village, the nonprofit Kissimmee resort known providing critically-ill children and their families weeklong wish vacations at no cost, has partnered with Garner Holt Education for a new interactive experience.


What You Need To Know

  • Give Kids The World Village partners with Garner Holt Education for new interactive experience

  • The Kissimmee nonprofit will open a customized AniMakerspace next year

  • The experience will let kids at the resort learn about the process of creating animatronic characters

​The resort will be home to a customized AniMakerspace set to open next year, the organization announced Tuesday at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando.

The AniMakerspace, will offer hands-on activities where children staying at the resort can fulfill their dream of building and designing custom animatronic characters. They will learn about the creative process—from concept to programming.

"They have all the tools and learn all the insights to have a realistic creative experience in a super detailed environment," said Ryan Rainbold, president of Garner Holt Education through Imagination.

Other AniMakerspaces exist mostly in schools. But Give Kids The World's AniMakerspace will be the first in Florida. It will also be a modified version designed specifically with the needs of the resort's wish families in mind.

The AniMakerspace experience will be part of a larger interactive experience at the resort called Mayor Clayton's WonderLab, a tactile learning space.

"We're thrilled to have a unique AniMakerspace for Give Kids the World Village," president and CEO Pam Landwirth said. "This is the kind of hands-on activity that adds extra fun and imagination for our precious families, helping us create happiness that inspires hope."

Garner Holt Education is donating the AniMakerspace to Give Kids The World Village.