While they don't let you in to the actual factory (it's down the road), they do have some of the machines there and they use them to show how crayons and markers are made. There are several stations with a variety of art/craft activities - color wonder markers, cut-and-paste, window markers, sidewalk chalk, paint, rubbings, painting with melted crayon wax, model magic, etc.
(taking his art very seriously)
(impatiently waiting for their paintings to come out of the dryer oven)
Kiddo loves this little room (it's super-dark in there - blurred pictures are a given - but I kind of like it):
He dances around like a maniac, watching himself on the big screen:
They also have a display showing historic crayons and other crayola products - the first boxes of slate pencils, chalk and crayons, retired crayon colors, the first markers, etc. Kiddo, who loves math and numbers, was fascinated by the display showing the 100 billionth crayon:
Just in case you were wondering, it was molded by Mr. Rogers in 1996. They made a new color for the occasion (blue ribbon), and then promptly retired the color. Now you have a random bit of trivia - impress your friends!
On the floor above the Crayola Factory is the National Canal Museum. While they have several exhibits, our favorite (by far) is the model canal, where you can borrow a barge and float it down the canal, passing it over bridges, through tunnels and locks, past waterfalls, and up and down hills. Too fun!
After we were done playing in the water, we stopped in at the Crayola Store to stock up on supplies before grabbing lunch (McDonald's - eeww, but a necessary evil, made slightly less evil by the fact that we were starving and just about anything tasted good) and heading home. We had a wonderful morning, made even better with friends along!
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