LittleBits Electronics Inc. is opening its first store in New York City. Located in the SoHo district, the pop-up store will open to the public on July 31.
The store, targeted towards families, educators, and creative professionals, will take visitors through a series of interactive experiences including:
• A musical twister wall, a new take on and homage to the FAO Schwarz giant piano.
• A workshop lab in which visitors can create inventions such as the Keytar (a synth guitar) or a BitBot car, a self-powered drawing machine.
• A Get Snapped Photo Booth, in which visitors can share their inventions with the world
The littleBits store is also pioneering a new concept in tech retail: Inventions To Stay and Inventions To Go. Visitors who participate in the workshop tables are able to leave their inventions for others to remix, encouraging open source collaboration, or buy what they invented on the spot.
For the design of the store, littleBits commissioned a Montreal-based design firm, Daily tours les jours (DTLJ). The pop-up store, located at at 355 West Broadway, is set to run through this holiday and will feature a continuous stream of talks, classes, and hands-on activities for all ages.