Crayola Experience

A few weeks ago I was invited by my aunt to the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA. If anyone knows me at all, they know that my Crayola product collection is not only extensive but also the pride of my craft corner. As an all around lover of coloring and the daughter of an artist, I have been introduced to many mediums, but as far as crayons go I am not alone in saying that Crayola has brilliant quality and inventive products that allow me to spend hours slaving over door decorations and coloring books to produce fantastic things, or at least time killers and crafting wonderment.

So, I was excited, maybe more than my young cousins who took to the place with gusto. The Factory, or Experience as it has been renamed, is a large building with rooms and rooms of activities based on different products they offer. When you first arrive to purchase your ticket you are given a baggie with tokens in them. These tokens act as bartering devices so that you may participate in certain activities. You are given enough to participate in the bare minimum but never fear, you are able to purchase more of these nifty tokens for 50 cents each.

The ticket is a modest 15.99, but if you wish to save even more the online price is discounted a dollar. The annual pass is doubled admission for $30.00, but if you have young children who would like that sort of thing, it is a cheap way to spend a weekend. If you purchase a pass, you are directed to the first cashier who takes a webcam photo of you and prints it out on a card so that when it sits in your wallet for a while, it will not be ruined. If you plan on returning to the factory at any point within the year, then I wholeheartedly suggest upgrading your ticket to the annual pass. Honestly, if I lived closer and had reasonable means of transportation, I would have purchased it too.

The first thing you are thrown into is the area where you can make your own crayon. Now, it isn't that you can create a color or that you are playing with any melted wax, but what you can do is select you favorite from a series of colors they have available and crate a message you would like to have on your crayon. Mine was a beautiful shade of carnation pink and that now says "Q's awesome crayon" with a little lightning bolt on the side. I accidentally dropped my crayon moments after I wrapped the personalized wrapper on it, and the tip broke off. This would normally send me into a spiral of disappointed ruin, but I was more calm since the wrapped still said it was my awesome crayon, and that, well, was just awesome.

Beyond the crayon maker kiosks, there was a staged show where you are able to watch a crayon scientist make a crayon, well, thousands of them. At the end of the demonstration you file out of the small space and receive a freshly made crayon. After which if you walk down the ramp into a level full of several activities including a large light bright, a coloring corner, a place to take a family photo and purchase a t-shirt and fabric markers. The first half of the floor is made up of tablet computers that allow you to color in creations that will be projected onto the wall. The scene was an underwater adventure and my beautiful scuba diver swam around the room that you could manipulate yourself on the wall.

Toward the end of the room there was a place where you could immortalize yourself as a coloring page. As a pirate I chose to use the pirate background, and I looked fabulous. The rest of the place is filled to the brim with activities and crafts. The next room holds machines that show you how to make markers and for a token, you can make one for yourself. Beyond that there is a whole area for playtime with model magic, the coolest puffy clay stuff on this earth. Color packages were a token each and play kits were available for more, but still moderately priced. The higher levels have more to offer as well. A giant playplace spans through two floors, and while my younger cousins
enjoyed that, I sat below with several boxes of paper scraps and access to crayons, watercolors, and puff paint. I ended up with a treasure chest and a puzzle with my name on it.

When our day came to a close we exited through the gift shop and I ended up with a bag of new products and a ton of excitement. We stopped at the Crayola Cafe and shared a pizza which was not the best but not the worst. The whole day was filled to the brim with fun and creativity; and beyond getting to play around all day with fun things, you learn about the company and the history of the crayon. The day was well spent and I would love to go again. Really though, I wish I lived there, with the walls being either animated or colored on, and the constant accessibility of crafting materials, the day was fantastic. The only problem I had was that it was very crowed with families and day camps so that was a minor annoyance, but all in all I loved it.