Last week the kids and I hit the road for a little local field trip. We love being creative, so when we saw that Crayola IDEAworks was stopping in Charlotte this summer, we had to check it out.
Located at Camp North End (1774 Statesville Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28206), Crayola IDEAworks is a colorful adventure for the entire family! The attraction is peppered with hands-on activities for visitors to explore, learn, and discover. With a multitude of physical and digital interactive experiences and challenges, visitors will enjoy unique photo opportunities, coloring and drawing tables, vibrant interactive displays, and more!
 |
We were greeted by a friendly team who led us to grab our IDEAworks bands and then walked us into a room where our journey would begin. The exhibit is made up of three distinct, interactive areas. We used the tag on our bands to "log in" to each station, which ultimately helped the kids to learn their own personal creative style.
IDEA Workshop
This was our first stop. We jumped into challenges, answered questions and solved puzzles to help us get in the creative mindset. The four sections in this area (I, D, E, and A) make up the IDEA Workshop and build the customized experience for guests to bring their skills and creativity to the next level. My younger son loved the "shark tank' area, where he could create ideas and pitch them to investors in the computer. It's towards the back, so make sure to check that out!
 |  |
Colorverse
We next entered the Crayola Colorverse, where we visited the fictional town of "Crayopolis", voyaged out-of-this-world to the galactic Mars Station and explored the curiosity-bending underwater SeaBase! The kids explored growing food on Mars, restoring a coral reef ecosystem, playing "news anchor", testing gravitational pull and more! This was probably my older so's most favorite area. He loved restoring the coral reef.
 |
Grand Finale
Last but not least, we bid farewell to the Colorverse and learned what specific Craymoji most fits our personal creative style, based on unique choices highlighted during their adventure.
 |  |
Details about the exhibit
- Ages: My boys are 6 and 8 and while the event says its geared for kids ages 5-12, I think its safe to say that with some help from mom and dad with the technology, toddlers as young as 3 could enjoy this. Some of the stations and elements are definitely great for older kids, but 12 really is a safe cut-off.
- Tickets: Everyone over the age of 5 needs a ticket - even grownups accompanying their children. Children 4 and under are free. Tickets range from $15-39, depending on the date/time and type you purchase. For all the details and to purchase, click HERE. Groups of 10+ are able to get discounted.
- Dates/Times: Crayola IDEAworks is open from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Tuesday - Sunday through the end of July.
- Other details to consider:
- Our group of 4 (my mom, my kids and me) took about 90 minutes in the exhibit, and that included a stop to the gift shop where the kids picked out a small crayola product for purchase.
- This Camp North End building is NOT air conditioned. They have cooling units, but if you get hot easily, you will want to plan a day that isn't 95 degrees! Dress accordingly too
- Your kids won't get too dirty, so don't worry about that - and all Crayola products used are washable (BONUS!)
- If you have a child who is sensitive to darkness, you may want to prepare them, but otherwise, this seems to me that it would be very sensory-friendly.
- There's lots of space to walk around and is easy to navigate with a wheelchair, adaptive walker or stroller
- Once you leave, check the food schedules at Camp North End to see if you can eat at Leah and Louise, grab a Pop at PopBar or head over to the food "hall" for some of our family's favorites!
- There's a party room - so if you think this would be a fun birthday party or field trip, you're probably right!
- Have your camera ready - there are some great photo ops!
 |  |
