Do your kids love construction equipment? State College’s new ‘crawl’ awaits
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- DSCID launches CConstruction Crawl to engage families during construction through July.
- Kids pick up a free hard hat and collect at least five stickers to earn an activity book.
- Program supports businesses; parents can enter monthly $150 gift-card raffles through July
Downtown State College is hoping to transform some of the bothersome construction on Calder Way into a free family-friendly activity — one with kids hard hats, activity books and even a raffle for parents.
The “Calder Way Construction Crawl” will start Monday and continue through July. It entails picking up a free kids hard hat, collecting at least five hard hat stickers from participating businesses and — when completed — then earning a free activity book at the office of the Downtown State College Improvement District (DSCID). Accompanying parents can even enter to win a $150 downtown gift card at the office.
The idea came as a way to combat the disruption from a multi-year downtown construction project, specifically the Calder Way Project that will turn the path into a shared corridor with pedestrian-friendly lighting and a dedicated bike lane. The project will also replace utility infrastructure, which is the focus of Phase 2 that kicked off last month.
“During Phase 1 of the Calder Way project in 2024, we saw firsthand the impact that construction can have on downtown businesses, particularly reduced foot traffic and visibility challenges,” DSCID executive director Lee Anne Jeffries told the CDT in an email. “As we prepared for Phase 2, we looked at how other communities have supported their small businesses during major infrastructure projects and realized we had an opportunity to approach this differently.
“Rather than viewing construction solely as a disruption, we wanted to reframe it as something families could engage with. Kids are naturally drawn to construction vehicles and big equipment, so the idea behind the Construction Crawl is to lean into that excitement, while also highlighting the long-term vision and improvements happening on Calder Way.”
How to take part
The first step is to simply pick up a free kids hard hat at either Growing Tree Toys (202 S. Allen St.) or the DSCID office (127 S. Fraser St.). Again, the first day that will be available is Monday.
DSCID is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, while Growing Tree Toys keeps hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closes Sundays.
Once the children have their hard hats, they can go to any of the following participating businesses to collect a sticker for their hats: Fraser Street Commons, Signature Engraving, Dagu Rice Noodle, Duck Donuts, 3 Dots Downtown, Evolve Studio, Cuts by Christy Orso, The Nittany Quill, Town Pride State College, Growing Tree Toys, Kitchen Kaboodle and Federal Taphouse.
Once at least five stickers are collected, kids can go to the DSCID office and then grab a free activity book for their efforts. While there, accompanying parents can also submit a raffle ticket to win a $150 downtown gift card. (One winner will be drawn every month through July.)
According to Jeffries, the plan is for the crawl to last through the construction season, which should end in July. If the activity proves especially popular, the DSCID and participating businesses plan to restock the hats and stickers as needed.
The construction crawl is made possible by the Downtown State College Improvement District and the Knight Foundation Fund at Centre Foundation.
