Toppall's Travels - Part 3

THURSDAY:

Best thing we ever did was give the kids their own bed to sleep in.  Sam was super excited to have a rollaway bed and Ian was able to rotate around in his own bed all he wanted.  It also helped that by the time the kids went to sleep on Wednesday night, they were beyond exhausted.  In fact by 7:30am the next morning, Jeff had to wake up both kids so we could get out of the hotel by 8:30am and on the road to our next destination.  When does that ever happen - waking up both kids?!?!  Wow.

The drive to Easton, PA, where the Crayola Factory is located, was an easy 1.5 hour drive from Philly.  Ever since I saw an episode of  "John and Kate plus 8" a few years ago, I've wanted to check this place out.  I have to say that it appeared much bigger on TV than in reality.  We got there soon after they opened and before the majority of the crowd of kids and adults appeared.

The Crayola Factory is a very hands-on kind of place.  There was a 25 minute demonstration on how crayons and markers are made.  We learned a cool tip on how to bring back to life a dried-out marker.  Just hold the marker sideways, put it under running water for about 20 seconds.  Put the cap back on and let the marker sit for a day or two.  Voila!  It should work perfectly again. 

The rest of the place is a series of rooms where you can go and do various crafts, using all kids of Crayola products.  There was a room where you can take markers and color on the walls.  There was a room where you could use sculpting clay and create different objects.  A big sized room that had a chalkboard type floor and lots of chalk to draw.  Jeff and Ian walked through an exhibit that let him create a picture out of melted wax.  Also, there were stations where you could get your picture taken and it would become part of a coloring sheet (princess, cars, spiderman, etc) that got printed out.

I liked this place!  The kids had a great time too.  It didn't really start to get crowded until closer to 11:00am.  There were plenty of rooms to go to, that even at its busiest, it wasn't that bad.  And of course, there were samples handed out of crayons, markers and sculpting clay.

 

This is the picture Ian made out of melted wax.



Directly upstairs was the National Canal Museum. It is worth the time to visit since you are already in the same building.  It is all geared towards kids and they had a good time watching their boats go through a model-sized canal.   Plus, they were also able to pretend steering a ship and other hands-on activities. 

We spent a good 4 hours at the Crayola Factory and National Canal Museum and this was including lunch.  We got back in the car and headed home.  This is one of those places that we don't need to go back to, but it is nice to cross it off the list.  It took a little less than 4 hours to drive back to Burke.  It was a full 4 days and I knew we were all looking forward to getting back home and taking it easy the rest of our Winter Break.


SOME FINAL THOUGHTS:

I loved that we did this trip.  Jeff and I already discussed going again in a few years and what we would do differently.  We would go back to The Franklin Institute and give this as many hours as the kids wanted.  If Sam is still on the young side for doing this museum, Jeff could take her back to The Please Touch Museum while Ian did The Franklin Institute.  I also never got the chance to do Betsy Ross' house or the Liberty Bell with Ian, so we would have to make sure time was scheduled for this.  Lastly, if Ian is old enough, I would love to take him to The Constitution Museum.  This is my most favorite musuem ever and I can't wait to show it to him.  And of course, we'd have to make sure we had lunch at the Reading Terminal. 

It was key getting to all these places as soon as they opened.  In each place, we'd have a good 2 hours before the crowds got nutsy.  Or, another option is to go when the kids are in school and let them miss a day or two.  I am a big believer that an education can happen anywhere, doesn't have to necessarily be at school. 

Once we got everything unpacked and the kids in bed for the night, Jeff looked at me and said, "it was a lovely trip."  Awesome!  I am now giddy with planning power and already thinking where we will go next.  :)