Press Release

Build-A-Bear Workshop announces new store in Cook Children's Medical Center

ST. LOUIS, Mar 17, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Build-A-Bear Workshop^®, the interactive entertainment retailer of customized stuffed animals, is teaming up with Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, TX to open a new store on Friday, March 25. Of the more than 400 operating locations around the world, this is the first Build-A-Bear Workshop store located inside a hospital.

"We are very excited about our relationship with Cook Children's and to bring Build-A-Bear Workshop to the medical center," said Maxine Clark founder and chief executive bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop. "When kids are sick or injured, making a new furry friend is a great way to take their mind off of their treatment and a teddy bear hug can help them feel so much better. We're proud that Build-A-Bear Workshop can be one of the pawsitive experiences that Cook Children's offers to the children they help."

When Guests visit the store, they will choose from a variety of animals to make, including limited edition furry friends. They stuff their new friend, give it a heart filled with wishes and make a personalized birth certificate. Guests can further personalize their new friend by recording their own message to add inside the stuffed animal and choosing from a wide selection of unique fashions and accessories. The Cook Children's Build-A-Bear Workshop store will offer a variety of furry friends, clothing and accessories themed to the medical center, including:

• Patient Gown
• Get Better Set with crutch, sling, band aide, and cast
• Wheelchair
• Lab Coat
• Doctor Scrubs
• Medical Outfits
• Bear-head pillow with Cook Children's logo
• Specially-designed Safety Bear
• Safety Bear bear-sized tee shirt

"The partnership between Cook Children's and Build-A-Bear Workshop is a perfect one," said Nancy Cychol, the president of Cook Children's Medical Center. "Build-A-Bear Workshop gives a child an experience they will cherish for the rest of their lives. A bear represents much more than a stuffed animal; it is a welcome distraction from stress and illness and a best friend. This store fits perfectly with our promise to improve the health of children because it takes more than doctors and medication to help kids feel better. We hope that these furry friends will touch the lives of patients and bring peace through difficult times."

The vast majority of Build-A-Bear Workshop stores are located within shopping malls. Build-A-Bear Workshop also has non-traditional store locations within three Major League Baseball ballparks, a store in the St. Louis Zoo, a store in the St. Louis Science Center, and stores located within select Rain Forest Café^® and T-Rex Café locations.

About Cook Children's

Cook Children's Health Care System is a not-for-profit, nationally recognized pediatric health care organization comprised of seven entities - a medical center, a physician network, a home health company, Cook Children's Northeast Hospital, a pediatric surgery center, a health plan, and the health foundation. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the integrated system has more than 60 primary and specialty care offices throughout North Texas. Its service region includes Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties, with an additional referral area encompassing nearly half the state.

Cook Children's traces its roots back to 1918, but throughout its continual change and robust growth, it still embraces an inspiring promise - to improve the health of every child in its region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease, and injury. To live up to this promise, Cook Children's combines the art of caring with the use of leading technology and extraordinary collaboration to provide exceptional care for every child, every day. For more information, please visit www.cookchildrens.org.

About Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is the only global company that offers an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. The company currently operates more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, and Mexico. Founded in St. Louis in 1997, Build-A-Bear Workshop is the leader in interactive retail. Brands include make-your-own Major League Baseball^® mascot in-stadium locations, and Build-A-Dino^® stores. Build-A-Bear Workshop extends its in-store interactive experience online with its award winning virtual world website at Bearville.com. The company was named to the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For^® list for the third year in a row in 2011. Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $401.5 million in fiscal 2010. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning website at buildabear.com.

TRADEMARKS

We would like to thank you for your interest in covering our business. As you write your story, we would ask that you use our full Name: Build-A-Bear Workshop^®and that when referencing the process of making stuffed animals you use the word "make" not "build."

Build-A-Bear Workshop is our well-known trade name and our registered trademark of Build-A-Bear Retail Management, Inc.Build-A-Bear Workshop^®should only be used in capital letters to refer to our products and services and should not be used as a verb.

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SOURCE: Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.

Build-A-Bear Workshop
Shannon Lammert, 314-423-8000 ext. 5379
314-556-8841 (cell)
ShannonL@buildabear.com
or
Cook Children's Hospital
Kristin Peaks, 682-885-1080
Kristin.Peaks@cookchildrens.org