Dear Diary,
Armed with a Groupon, we got in for half price and embarked on a creative adventure to color the cloudy weather outside with a little spontaneity.
And go Sweden!
(How about America's Olympic medal tally, eh?)
I've seen these popping up across the country, and our curiosity was piqued when one moved in at the Mall. There were plenty of hands-on activities for the kids, like creating your own crayon label (Maddie's were Licker and Pinkie, and Landen labeled his crayons Awesome and Dude) and adding a picture of yourself to a coloring sheet.
There was dancing, and interactive displays, and painting. We made our own puzzles, and there was a playground inside (Nick and I joked it was the most expensive playground we've been to). Some of it was a little too young for 'too-cool' Landen, but no one can resist a little coloring.
Yes, even Daddy can attest to that.
The Color Wall, with Crayola swatches.
They did a good job breaking down the history of Crayola for a child to read and understand, and Landen was surprised to learn these iconic crayons were first created in the late 1800s. We were surrounded by old print ads from the 50s, 60s and 70s. And now, the crayons are staples of school supply lists and our own coloring cabinet.
This exhibit was adorable - we made paper fairies (held up by binder clips) and when music was played, the fairies seemed to dance to the beat!
Making spin art from melted crayons ...
I can smell the crayons in the background in this picture, and it smells like childhood.
Favorite picture of the day!
Madelyn's spin art
Landen's spin art, and he was getting annoyed with my picture-taking.
Madelyn was melting crayons into a mold, and was mesmerized by the process, as you can see by the pose! She chose a diamond ring mold, so to freak out Nick I told him she got engaged.
Now for a little truth serum - without the Groupon, the Experience for the 4 of us would have been an $80 admission fee. We went through the entire Experience within 3 hours, and though it was fun, I don't think it would have been worth the original price. If you're interested (and I do recommend), definitely wait for the half-price Groupon!
In conclusion, The Crayola Experience - CONQUERED.