Thank you to the team at Crayola for allowing us to review The Crayola Experience with complimentary tickets.
We recently returned from a family trip to Dallas and all the kids agreed – The Crayola Experience in Plano was one of our very favorite outings!
Now, I did sense this potential when I added The Crayola Experience to our itinerary. Years ago my sisters and I fell in love with Crayola at the Easton, Pennsylvania location. With those memories firmly intact I was excited to take my kids on their own Crayola adventure. They love color, they love art, and you’ll find Crayola products all over our school room. Pretty much, we’re a match made in heaven.
As soon as I told my sister where we were headed she sent me this gem from an old family scrapbook! Despite my grumpy face, I promise I loved it! You know, back in the day, we couldn’t preview photos before printing them …
I carved out almost a whole day for our time at The Crayola Experience. I anticipated visiting for about two hours and then returning to the hotel for naps, but we stayed for double that! Four hours after our arrival it was time for a late lunch/early dinner. Had hunger not taken over the kids all would have chosen to stay longer.
Here’s their take on the exhibits and attractions:
Jemma, age 11
Jem loved the “Wrap It Up” activity. It’s the first one you see upon entering The Crayola Experience’s colorful world. With a token (that’s included with admission) you get to pick a crayon color and create its label – that’s right, a custom label with a name of your choosing. We loved this so much we bought more tokens (they’re only 50 cents) to create more custom crayons!
Max, age 9
I don’t think Max would have ever left “Be a Star”! This station allows kids to take a photo of themselves and then it turns it into a coloring page! There is no limit and thus, we practically have an entire coloring book of the wild bros silly antics.
Reid, age 6
Naturally, Reid loved the space that allowed he and his brothers to be wild and crazy! The Crayola Experience has an entire indoor playground to burn off energy between art projects.
Eli, age 4
You’ve probably seen Scribble Scrubbies in the store before and at The Crayola Experience you get a coupon for a free one! Eli diligently colored his little bird at the coloring station, then washed him off in the nearby sink and colored again! These things are GENIUS!
Charlie, age 1
Charlie is just starting to color and loved having art supplies at his disposal at the Colossal Caddy. The Crayola Experience is truly hands on for all ages. I mean, do you see this happy boys grin?!?
I know that all sounds like a lot already but The Crayola Experience has so many more stops – Melt & Mold let the kids melt crayons into fun shapes, Drip Art melted crayons as well but this time into an overlapping spiral where they got to control the drip speed, and tokens allowed us to purchase Crayola modeling clay through a vending machine dispenser (and you know the allure of that!).
Being the quintessential homeschool mom that I am, I most appreciated walking through the timeline of Crayola with the kids and watching The Crayola Factory Show. It shows a few times each day in the theater and really dives into how crayons are made and what makes Crayola special. Did you know there is a pin size hole in the middle of each crayon that makes them stronger? We watched this show last, but if you can, do this first as it provides great context.
The exit of The Crayola Experience winds you through The Crayola Store. It’s not just any shop though – here you can build a custom crayon box! Any mix of crayons and markers in a sturdy keepsake tin. Jem chose the one with a built-in crayon sharpener and maxed out every square inch with a rainbow of colors. Pretty fab keepsake of our Crayola day if you ask me!
It goes without saying that if you’re in the Dallas, Texas area you’ve got to drive a smidge north and check out The Crayola Experience in Plano! There are also locations in Chandler, Arizona; Easton, Pennsylvania; Mall of America, Minnesota; and Orlando, Florida.
In the meantime, snag some of the best art supplies around and live your most colorful life at home!
- Ultimate Crayon Collection – 152 crayons
- Crayola Star Wars Collector’s Tin
- Confetti Crayons – Jem’s favorite, only $3
- Crayons For Little Hands – Jumbo and Triangular
- Multicultural Markers
- Multicultural Crayons
- Max’s Souvenir – he highly recommends :)
Last, but certainly not least, if you are an educator (homeschool parent included) you get a free annual pass to The Crayola Experience! This special offer is also available for “True Blue Heroes” – military, law enforcement, firefighters, and EMTs. Such a blessing, Crayola, thank you!
The Crayola Experience is connected to the mall, so food and other shopping is close by. If you wander through you’ll find this fun picture op near Neiman Marcus.
And that’s a wrap … a Crayola crayon wrap! Stay tuned for more about our stay in Dallas and other things we loved doing as a family there.