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Just in time for fun holiday gatherings, Rockefeller Center is hosting a pop-up playground of sorts, GE Vernova’s Innovators Toy Land. The activation will take over the plaza with a bustling playground aimed at kids and adults who are invited to play with hands-on STEM exhibits and meet scientists. It's all meant to inspire creativity, playfulness and innovation.
The event takes place on December 8 between 9am and 10:30am and then again between 1pm and 4:30pm. Expect to play around with some time-honored toys like Slinky (the “walking” spring first sold in 1945), Lite-Bright (the light box with colored pegs that lets kids “draw” with light, first sold in 1967) and Rubik’s Cube (the 3-D box puzzle invented in Hungary and first sold in the U.S. in 1980). There will also be Snap Circuits, a toy first released in 2002, which helps kids understand circuits as they build them, teaching the science of electronics by making it fun. Families can visit the Snap Circuit toy grid station where they can connect circuits, activate switches and experiment with energy.
Another source of energy at the plaza? The Christmas tree lights, which will be already turned on by that point (the official tree lighting ceremony is on December 3), so the pop-up toy land will be merry and sparkly.
While in the area, you might also want to spend some time inside the adorably cozy chalets, back at Rock Center for the season. The wood-trimmed, twinkly mini-lounges perched above the on-site ice skating rink remain one of the most delightfully extra ways to do the holidays in New York.
But back to the family-friendly playground: the activity is completely free (another plus) and is sure to bring a little brightness to the beginning of the holiday season. Perhaps, though, get ready for the kids to add a few more items to their holiday wish lists.