The boss at the Crayola Experience in Easton has about as much fun as the children that flock to this terrific kid-friendly fun factory.

The general manager's eyes twinkle and he has a friendly and ready laugh, but he isn't Santa Claus. Dan Aylward, a veteran "entertainment attraction" manager, loves to talk about the newly-renovated Crayola Experience that reopened in May with eight new "experiences" for a total of 21activities that entire families can enjoy.

On a recent tour of the Crayola LLC's public space in Easton, Pa., Aylward showed the new face of the Crayola Experience, an interactive multimedia and hands-on experience where families can enjoy a day of creative fun and see how this internationally famous company makes the iconic Crayola crayons and markers.The building hasn't moved, but a new entrance facing Easton's spacious and popular town square and traffic circle has brought some color to the roundabout and improved the public visibility of the four-story building.

Giant Crayola sculptures in the plaza un-mistakenly proclaim the purpose of the building and make a colorful statement about the kid-friendly facility.

Background

Crayola sells its products in about 85 countries, according Aylward.

He said Crayola's actual factory is now in Forks Township but was originally in Easton where it was established 110 years ago.

First known as Binney and Smith Inc., Crayola has been inspiring creativity in children for more than 100 years - since the first box of Crayola crayons rolled off the assembly line in 1903. The company began when cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith took over Edwin's father's pigment business in 1885.

Schoolteacher Alice Binney, Edwin's wife, originated the term "Crayola." It comes from "craie", French for "chalk," and "ola" for "oleaginous", or "oily."

Crayola introduced its crayons not with one box, but with a full product line. By 1905, the line had expanded to offering 18 different-sized crayon boxes.

Partnerships

What was once a McDonald's restaurant now houses the Crayola Café where visitors to the Crayola Experience can get pizza, drinks and other goodies that appeal to hungry kids and the adults who bring them.

Aylward pointed out the colorful "Rainbow Cupcakes" as an example of how the business community in Easton contributes to Crayola Experience's success. Lorrie Ordinsky from Mount Bethel was on duty in the café. She said she has worked there since May.

Sweet Girlz Bakery, at 40 North Third St. in Easton, supplies the delicious cupcakes, according to Aylward. Sweet Girlz co-owner Kari Kirchgessner said the Rainbow Cupcake was designed especially for the Crayola Experience. She said her product line has tripled since she and her partner Jill Fuls opened their business less than two years ago.

Aylward said Crayola Experience is supplied by over 100 vendors, many from the Lehigh Valley.

Target audience

Crayola Experience's 60,000 square feet of public space at 100 Centre Square in Easton is geared toward entertaining kids from infancy through about age 12 and their grandparents and parents. The redesigned attraction last year drew about 285,000 year drew about 285,000 visitors, according to Aylward. He said he expects that number to jump to 400,000 in the 12 months ending in May 2014. He said visitors from all over the United States and from many foreign countries come to Easton to visit Crayola's premier attraction.

According to Aylward, 133 part-time and 18 full-time workers staff the building. The number of part-time helpers varies with the season. He said they are busiest in the summer.

For some part-timers the job is a stepping stone into full-time career jobs.

There are plenty of attractions such as the one where Chelsea Carle, a charming employee from Easton, will help you print a crayon wrapper with your name on it, thus personalizing your very own Crayola.

One "experience" activity allows you to make your own spepcial marker. A robot obeys your commands to select a mix of your favorite colors, injects the pigment into the tube and drops the new marker in your hand.

Another is a molding machine where you can pick a crayon out of a bucket and insert it into an automated machine. There you can see the colorful crayon made from paraffin, clay and pigment transformed to your choice of several other fantastic forms.

"Doodle in the Dark" gives unique perspective to creative kids who can see their art work on back-lit screens.

But one of the more fascinating "experiences," especially for the adults, is the model factory where a worker makes real crayons from melted wax to finished product. A new video and huge television monitor allow the worker to show every little detail.

Besides the Crayola Café, a retail store offers everything Crayola. One of the newest products, "Create 2 Destroy," seems like great fun. It's also a great place to see 450,000 crayons waiting to be chosen by some child to fill an old-style tin container. That's a lot of Crayola's!