Colorful Option for Children in Maryland

The makers of Crayola crayons have opened a store and crafts area for children in Hanover, about 10 miles southwest of Baltimore.

Reminiscent of the store-as-playground approach of FAO Schwarz and the Toys R Us store in New York’s Times Square, the Crayola Works Studio & Store devotes less than half its 20,000 square feet to retail space and the rest to a crafts studio.

Entrance to the retail area is free. Besides Crayola products, the area has interactive stations where children can stretch images of their faces, among other activities, plus a Volkswagen bug car and walls that children can color on with markers and chalk. (Don’t try this at home, kids.) To enter the studio, visitors must buy crafts kits, starting at $5.99, that provide the makings for decorating wooden boxes, soccer balls and other objects to take home, a spokeswoman said. Only one kit per family is needed for entry.

The company, Binney & Smith, continues to operate its Crayola Factory museum in Easton, Pa., which also has a retail store and activity areas plus a mock crayon production line.

The Maryland store, at the Arundel Mills mall on Arundel Mills Boulevard, is open 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. (410) 799-0400, www.crayolaworks.com.