Taking a Trip to LifeTown

Our school trip to LifeTown in Livingston, NJ, was one of the highlights of our year. In addition to inclusive programs and classes for children, teenagers, and families—and a sizable interactive play area and pool—LifeTown has an interactive, immersive small town where neurodivergent children and adults can practice life skills ranging from following traffic rules, to using a bank, to working or shopping in a store.

When we arrived, a LifeTown employee gave our group a deposit slip for the LifeTown bank, a job application form, and a sheet with a list of all the available jobs in LifeTown. The first thing our group did was go to the bank to deposit our “money” and take some of it out in cash. Then, it was up to our students to decide what to do with it. They could spend their money at one of the businesses, or get a job at one of the stores so they could make more money to deposit and then spend.

LifeTown has a nail salon, a pet store, a grocery store, a movie theater (with popcorn!)–even a place to rent a bike to get around town and a police officer to direct traffic. Whenever our students ran out of money, they got jobs at one of the stores and worked to earn more. We were so impressed by the variety of skill-building opportunities LifeTown offers—not just when it comes to navigating a city safely and effectively (following street signs and traffic rules, finding your way to your destination, making a purchase at a store), but for cultivating on-the-job skills, since the LifeTown visitors are also the ones who make LifeTown work! Our students had a great time, and this definitely won’t be our last visit.