Crayola Factory in Easton, PA

Ever since seeing the Gosselins visit the Crayola Factory a few years ago on "Jon & Kate Plus 8" it has been on my bucket list. Apparently I am not the only one as they survey you to see how you found about the Factory and one of the options is "I saw you on Jon & Kate." Love or hate the show, they go to some pretty awesome places! After not doing anything for several weekends (which is unlike us, we're usually constantly on the move), I decided this would be the weekend to "just do it!" The 3 hour drive made me worry that it wouldn't be worth the effort, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

We started our visit in an area where they encourage you to draw on the clear walls. My only fear is that Blake (who doesn't know better) will try to do this on our living room walls in the near future. Thank goodness for magic erasers if/when it happens!

Next we played in a toddler area where the boys dropped a balls in a machine, they rolled through tracks in the ceiling, and then ended by coming through this maze.

When you arrive they give children personalized bags to hold all of the things they will make and throughout the factory are different crafts children can make. Caleb refused to make a wand because it was too "girly," but dove right into making a wizard hat.

My favorite part of the factory (as an adult) was a show where they lead you through each step of the crayon and marker making process. There were large television screens that gave you a close view of what the presentor was doing. He also talked/interacted with the crowd as he went through the process.

Next we headed to the model magic studio. When you check in at the factory they give you 4 tokens for each person. These tokens can be redeemed for packs of model magic, crayons, and individual markers. You can buy additional tokens, but we didn't find that to be necessary. We actually walked out with 4 extra tokens (if you're going let me know and you can have them!).

The boys enjoyed drawing on the floor with chalk. There was also a neat glow in the dark section where the pens lit up whatever you drew on the wall.

One must do is the dangerous (especially if you're a teacher) Crayola gift shop. Not only do they have the World's Largest Crayon but they had more awesome Crayola products in one place than I've ever seen in my life. It was difficult to only pick a few things, but we bought the boys tee shirts, filled a can with special crayons that we hand selected, and bought a neat art smock to use at home when we paint.

For more information about the Crayola factory visit their website at www.crayola.com/factory Admission is extremely reasonable at $10 a person, with children 2 and under being free. One suggestion (that we wish we would have known in advance) is to bring quarters as all parking is metered.

In addition to the Crayola factory your entrance free includes admission into the Canal museum which is also apparently kid friendly. We honestly spent 2 hours on the Crayola floor and didn't make it upstairs as the kids were whiny and ready for lunch. The factory is located in the city of Easton, PA. It's a funky little town that is stuck in the 1950's, but in a good way. It was fun to explore the local farmer's market which is held each Saturday. There are also other family friendly attractions close by, like the Lost River Caverns (which I will try to blog about soon too). All in all it was a great day! I am so glad I didn't chicken out because of the drive!