Google shuts down its CES booth because it’s not waterproof

We were supposed to get a little preview of Google’s CES booth ahead of the official opening of CES today. But that wasn’t meant to be. See, it’s raining in Las Vegas and Google’s two-level outdoor CES booth clearly wasn’t meant to withstand rain. My guess is that its IP rating is probably somewhere around 50.

For now, the booth is closed, with tarps covering the roof and all of the electronics inside and out.

Usually, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but this is the first time Google has exhibited at CES and the company clearly put a lot of thought and effort into its presence here.

The structure, which sits on the parking lots outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center, features a slide and plenty of exhibit space inside to show off all of the new gadgets Google and its partners announced yesterday. One side is covered by a huge video wall, too. Clearly, this wasn’t a cheap undertaking and shutting it down for a day is obviously not what Google envisioned when it planned this.

For now, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get a look inside because it doesn’t look like the rain will let up until the afternoon.

To be fair, Google says that it shut down the booth due to “concerns for safety around the parking lot.” We were able to walk across the parking lot without any issues, though, and nobody stopped us.

Come back tomorrow, when we’ll have a real tour of the booth and to see Tito make his way down the Google slide.