This spring, CAMP is embracing the new blooms and gardening with its newest theme—Cooking CAMP! The interactive shopping experience is focusing on food and the journey our ingredients make from farms to supermarkets to our dinner tables! Kids begin the journey at the garden with a planting station. For $10, little ones can plant sunflower, dill, or other spices and learn about how to care for plants on a small scale. Afterwards, they can hop into the custom-built silo for a bounce on the CAMP trampoline (a campoline, if you will).
Once your little ones have bounced their hearts out they can follow their food on the next step of the journey—transportation from the farm to the store! This part of the store highlights trucks and travel with everything from an 18-wheeler toy shelf to a vintage-style gas pump that blows bubbles. This section features a number of adorable truck sets and toy cars, perfect for budding gearheads.
From there, take a step into the world of the grocery store. Children can try their hand at game that’s sort of a mix between shooting hoops and playing Plinko. They can watch as the food falls through the course and try to guess where it will end up. Spoiler alert: It falls onto a small, hand-cranked conveyor belt just like the kind at the grocery store.
After they’ve embraced their inner Michael Jordan, kids can walk into a mock refrigerator for a dance party. The interior features sparkling walls, color-changing lights, and a thermostat that can be adjusted to change the music.
From there, it’s time to venture into the kitchen and prepare a meal. This part of the experience includes home wares and cooking supplies–so mom and dad can treat themselves too!–and an interactive slot machine-themed game. When kids press a button on a screen, different icons scroll through and eventually align to teach kids about the ingredients of common recipes. For example, the three ingredients that I got were cheese, tomato sauce, and dough—the ingredients for pizza.
The new installment opened on May 9 and will be open on weekdays from 11am-6pm, Saturdays from 10am-7pm, and Sundays from 10am-6pm. CAMP is located at 110 Fifth Ave. near Union Square. For more information visit camp.com.
