Crayola Experience
A couple of years ago my oldest children were particularly fascinated by crayons and markers and trying to get all the unique colors they could in their collections. Around their birthdays in May, we took a family trip to Easton, PA to learn everything we could about the world of Crayola! 65,000 square feet and 4 floors filled with color and sensory overload, the Crayola Experience was a real highlight for my kids. I’m pretty sure even my 12-year old son would still really enjoy it.
We decided to start at the top to beat the crowds. The fourth floor highlighted alternative art with melted crayons. The kids could make spin art, various molded shapes with the liquid crayons, and “paintings” with melted crayon wax. Eliana really loved painting and I remember thinking I could have used some reusable shopping bags to hold all the stuff we made. This floor was great because the projects were things that would be difficult and messy to do at home, so we spent a lot of time here.
The third floo
r is a must if you have smaller children. A large Crayola-inspired playground is at the core, with many tables and chairs containing art supplies for little artists (and grown-ups too!) You can cut, color, glue, and decorate to your heart’s content. “Water Works” is another room focused on water play, allowing children to navigate their Crayola boats through an 85-ft. long canal, complete with levies. What child doesn’t LOVE to play in water? The final room on this floor is “Doodle in the Dark” where visitors can play with glow-in-the-dark, neon colors on large doodle boards, and interact with the special floor that responds to your motions. So unique, it was another favorite for our family!
The second floor was jam-packed with color excitement. Model Magic allows you to sculpt and play and even take home your creation. “Color Magic” is a chance to turn your drawings into a 4-D show. “Art alive” is exciting in that kids can transform their drawings into the collective, ongoing big screen canvas, then interact with their creations, making them animate and come to life. Watch a movie in the theater that takes you through the crayon manufacturing process. Wrap your own crayons, putting custom labels on them using whatever color names you can dream up! Another hit with my children, they stayed here for awhile, and it’s always the first thing they recall about that trip. For little ones, another play area on this floor focuses on a large multi-colored peg board and giant balls for them to play with. No chance anyone will be bored, as there is simply too many activities to mention. Honestly, I don’t think we had time to do all the stations on this floor.
The ground floor was the entrance and ticketing booths and a cute photo opp with the world’s largest crayon! The café was a decent size with plenty of meal options to feed the family as you are most likely going to need to be there over a meal with this day trip. The highlight on this floor though is the large Crayola store, stocked with a dazzling array of every product the company makes. Find unique Crayola items not found in common stores such as a 2 lb. crayon customizable with your name. My children particularly enjoyed the “Pick a Crayon” wall where they could mix and match their choice of crayons filling a special tin. I actually thought this post would be great for this time of year because of the store….think fun Christmas gifts!
The website suggests you spend 3-4 hours but I think we were there even longer, as the kids wanted to do certain areas twice! When I mentioned to my husband I was blogging about Crayola Experience, he said, “Oh yeah, that was a great trip…we should do it again sometime…” Now if he says that about a trip that takes us almost 2 hours to get there, you know it’s good people! (You may remember some of our longer trips in the car don’t go so well.) Pile the kids in the car this winter vacation and get ready to see their creative sides unleashed!
Hours: Varies, check their calendar for the day you plan to visit. (Usually 10am-6pm)
Admission: $16.99/adults and children 3+ (ONLY if you purchase ahead of time online, otherwise it’s $19.99!)
Crayola Experience
30 Centre Square
Easton, PA 18042
(610) 515-8000
Visit their very helpful website at www.crayolaexperience.com for more details!
