Refreshed ‘Littlest ShopRite’ to Be Unveiled

New interactive, educational features in the Please Touch Museum’s (PTM) ShopRite Supermarket exhibit will debut on Jan. 5 as part of the 37-year-old Philadelphia institution’s “5th Birthday” celebrations, which commemorate five years at its current Memorial Hall location.

“Our ShopRite Supermarket was originally created to encourage social skill development and foster play based learning,” said Lynn McMaster, PTM’s interim president and CEO. “Today’s young visitors will have more opportunities to explore and practice pre-literacy and math concepts or identifying colors and shapes, all while demonstrating choice and responsibility.”

PTM puppet Marvin the Supermarket Manager and a 5th Birthday party raffle winner will help cut the ribbon on the miniature grocery store known as the “Littlest ShopRite.” In addition to new checkout lanes and shopping baskets, the popular exhibit now features shopping lists to help children plan menus, QR codes with nutritional information for parents, as well as racks offering such kid-friendly items as magazines and flowers.

According to Reid, the revamped exhibit enables PTM “to expand the opportunities for children to reap the educational benefits of this terrific space.”

Even More in Store

Also to mark PTM’s 5th Birthday, visitors will receive discounted museum admission with a ShopRite Price Plus Club Card for up to four people, with the added treats of mini cupcakes; faux cake decorating in the Program Room; special story times about family, food and going to the grocery store; and a special End of the Day Birthday Dance Party featuring ShopRite’s Can Can Dancers. Further, from Jan. 5-18, visitors may take part in a canned food drive at the museum to aid Delaware Valley anti-hunger organization Philabundance.

ShopRite is the registered trademark of Keasbey, N.J-based retailer-owned cooperative Wakefern Food Corp. With more than 250 ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, ShopRite serves more than 6 million customers weekly.