New Innovative & Interactive Build-A-Bear Workshop Stores

Disclosure: I received bears and accessories for my kids in exchange for my honest opinion.

Last year Build-A-Bear updated six of its stores and this year a total of 25 locations will be opened featuring an innovative technology and a more interactive experience.  I got the chance to head to the Orland Park, IL Build-A-Bear store to check out how an innovative store is and I was definitely impressed.  Now don’t get me wrong, Build-A-Bear Workshop stores are fun and my kids love it, but the new stores technology definitely takes bear creating to a whole new level!

First off you pick your character just as you normally would, but from there pretty much everything is updated.  Some of the changes include:

• An interactive storefront that is enabled by Microsoft’s Kinect technology and interactive touch elements. Guests can play games and view the latest product offerings as they enter the store.

• The LoveMe station allows Guests to customize their furry friends with special personality attributes displayed as emoticons on an interactive table. Using Samsung’s SUR40 with Microsoft^® PixelSense™ technology, Guests add unique traits – like brave, silly, and smart – to their red satin heart, which is added to their stuffed animal during the Stuff Me process.

• The Hear Me station features an assortment of high quality sounds that can be added to stuffed animals. Using an interactive touch screen, Guests can select and load popular hits from current music, sounds, or their own voice onto a chip to further personalize their stuffed animal.

• The Fluff Me station features a digital bath tub enabled by Samsung’s SUR40 with Microsoft^® PixelSense^™ technology. The tub magically recognizes the items as they are placed on it and reacts with sensory effects such as virtual bubbles that appear when play soap is placed on the “water surface.”

• The Name Me station, where Guests use a viewfinder or “Bear-O-Scope” to reveal the special attributes they added to their stuffed animal. At Name Me, Guests also create a one-of-a-kind birth certificate that includes a photo of their new furry friend.

First we have to pick a plush:

Notice how it says my son’s name “Gavin” on the screen – this is where he adds attributes he wants his bear to have:

Sounds to pick:

Modern songs for your bear:

Waiting to get stuffed:

Adorable clothes and accessories:

Stuffing!

Putting the heart in:

Scents you can add!  We got strawberry and it smells awesome!

Bathtime:

Look at the boat and the duck’s feet:

Of course my little one wants to try on the bear shoes:

Using the Bear-O-Scope to see whats inside her Pinkie Pony on the virtual screen:

The Bear-O-Meter shows on the computer what each attribute amount is in the bear:

Her first Build-A-Bear, I’m sure just one of many!

    

Overall we had a blast and ever since my boys have been asking when we are going back.  Being more interactive with computers and animation was definitely a good direction for Build-A-Bear Workshop to go.  I was worried it would take longer to build our bears but it flowed nicely and my kids actually didn’t want to leave!  Also, the store did seem smaller but I was assured everything was still there, it was just organized differently.  It appealed to my kids more than the last time we went when we stuffed bears the original way.  Yes my sons love it too, it is not just for girls, although my almost 2 year old daughter had a blast doing it.  I do want to add though that building a bear (or pony or other animal) whether at a new interactive store or a traditional store is fun either way – I believe it is an experience every child should have!

BUY IT:  Head to your Build-A-Bear Workshop store to start building and you can also check out a store tour of a newly designed store.

WIN IT:  (1) US winner will receive a $25 Build-A-Bear Workshop Gift Card

Need help entering a giveaway?  Check out my blog post for some help!

GIVEAWAY ENTRY:

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