Last year the Crayola Factory got a facelift and man, is she looking good! Completely re-imagined in 2013, the renamed Crayola EXPERIENCE® boasts 25 hands-on attractions sure to please visitors of all ages. Originally opened in 1996 to help revitalize downtown Easton, the Crayola Company prides itself on raising creatively alive children. Its four floors of fun begin with an introduction to “Big Blue,” the world's largest crayon, made from 123,000 blue Crayola crayons sent in from kids around the world.
The next stop is Café Crayola offering a variety of foods from salads to pizza, including gluten-free options. You can enjoy your meal while viewing the new live and interactive entertainment at the Café Stage which puts on shows such as “The Story of Silly Putty,” explaining the science behind the ubiquitous sculpting material. Various attractions are located on the second floor such as “Wrap it Up,” where guests can create and wrap their very own authentic Crayola crayon label. “Art Alive” combines technology and creativity, allowing kids to create digital artwork and then project it onto the wall where they can touch their drawings and bring them to life using only their shadows.
The third floor houses “Water Works,” a working lock and canal system that pays tribute to the Canal Museum, as well as a playground and “Doodle in the Dark.” The interactive dark room makes art appear to glow on the backlit doodle boards. Continuing upstairs another floor, visitors can mold their own crayons into various shapes at the “Melt & Mold” station and then they can create a melted wax piece of art at “Drip Art.” With four floors of endless creative fun, visitors will be occupied for an entire day making masterpiece after masterpiece. Before leaving, make sure to stop in the Crayola Store, where you can purchase anything and everything Crayola, including select items only available in the store and not anywhere else in the world.
The completely redesigned Crayola Experience entertains an average of 400,000 visitors per year. Assistant Manager of Communications Kelly Suarez calls the Crayola EXPERIENCE®, “just a springboard. Imagination is the most powerful tool.” If imagination is life's most powerful tool, then the Crayola EXPERIENCE® provides a pretty cool toolbox to help visitors of all ages create whatever they can think of.
The latest from the Crayola EXPERIENCE® is its partnership with New Jersey Fashion Week. For the second year, Crayola will be hosting a fashion show on September 13 featuring clothes designed and modeled by kids, for kids. An open casting call for show models will be held on July 11 and 12. The show will focus on back to school fashion with looks inspired by the Crayola EXPERIENCE®. The winning designer will spend the day with celebrity guest judge Carol Hannah of Project Runway fame. The winning model will be awarded a modeling package. Action News's Alicia Vitarelli will host the show. For more details, please visit crayolaexperience.com/njfashionweek.
The Crayola EXPERIENCE® has also generously provided a coupon exclusively for Lehigh Valley Style readers! Click here to purchase discounted tickets and enjoy your day creating with Crayola.
