Do you need a new Instagram photo? Or do you have a craving for ice cream and sweets? Well, look no further – the new Museum of Ice Cream opened in San Francisco and can satisfy all your sugary and social media related needs.
Located just two blocks away from Union Square, the Museum of Ice Cream is situated in a renovated Versace building. There is no way to miss the giant pink building with the huge rainbow unicorn in the window display.
As you walk in, you are immediately greeted by a friendly museum employee. These happy-go-lucky ice cream specialists are all around the exhibit teaching you about ice cream, explaining parts of the exhibit or serving you delicious treats. They also double as personal photographers for you and your group if you are short on hands.
The sweets served in each room typically match the theme of the room. At the San Francisco location, one can enjoy a variety of sugary snacks. Just to name a few: cherry flavored cotton candy with edible glitter, doubly chocolate mochi, unicorn themed ice cream cones, and a special scoop of Bi-Rite ice cream (a famous creamery in San Francisco).
On top of the decadent sweets, the museum’s displays are visually enticing and photogenic. In fact, the entire museum is reminiscent of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. The design of the Museum of Ice Cream explores the whimsical and indulgent nature of confectionary goodies. Each room is dedicated to a specific sugary theme, which is explored by contrasting wallpaper colors, distinct textures, and unique props.
Additionally, the “one-way” layout of the museum serves as a clear path from one exhibit to another, each exhibit vastly different than the previous one. This means you can stay in each room for as long as you’d like to get that perfect photo.
Our favorite room – and the most iconic ones – is the Sprinkle Pool. Essentially, it is a 4 foot deep pool filled with colorful plastic sprinkles and pool accessories. After being quickly briefed about the pool rules – no diving or eating the sprinkles – we removed our shoes and entered the colorfully enticing pool.
Not only was the experience of being surrounded by millions of sprinkles incredible – it feels like the inside of a beanbag – but the Sprinkle Pool offers a unique photo opportunity. After taking numerous photos in our allotted time, the employees directed us to the Sprinkle Shower. Here, we removed any remaining sprinkles that were stuck to our clothing using pressurized air, this is something new to the Museum of Ice Cream. The Los Angeles and New York locations did not have these sprinkle clean up areas and the sprinkles followed us home.
We had such an amazing time at the San Francisco Museum of Ice Cream. If missed the pop-up museum’s stop in Los Angeles, I highly recommend making your way out to San Francisco. Just make sure to get tickets first!
Click here for more info on the Museum of Ice Cream. The San Francisco location is scheduled to be open until February 2018 and the Los Angeles location is scheduled until October 2017.
Contributing reports & photos courtesy of Jacky Labins.