Experiencing the NBC Experience Store

I just got to experience the NBC Experience Store, in Rockefeller Center, which has been transformed on Election Day into Democracy Plaza! In the NBC store, red and blue décor, representing the Republicans and the Democrats, are everywhere to be seen. As you walk through the door, representatives from the store hand you buttons with the well-known faces of MSNBC personalities. The walls are covered with these faces, and red, white and blue ornaments are hung everywhere.

Not only does the NBC Experience Store let you experience the election, but also this store gives you the opportunity to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy by filling out (witing your name and where you come from) a magnetic button and placing it on one of the walls. For each button, the Red Cross donates two dollars. When you place your magnetic button on the wall, you realize how many other buttons made by tourists and New Yorkers alike, are also on the wall. You also realize how many people spent a few minutes of this Election Day to help out. Easy enough right? But you are not finished with your experience here.

You can either head up the patriotic stairs to get a signature from a celebrity, like Al Sharpton or Ed Schultz, or keep walking to take a picture of yourself decked out in red, white, and blue, either in boas, huge sunglasses, leis, and many other festive clothes.

After you take a picture of yourself, you are able to create your own personalized campaign button, which you can take with you as part of the experience at the store.  On your way out, you can’t help but paw through the hundreds of buttons you didn’t take on your way in, placed in transparent buckets. You put the buttons on yourself, and walk out smiling with pride into Democracy Plaza and continue with your day. Then, you have truly experienced this spectacular store on Election Day.

—Kid Reporter Dani Bergman Chudnow