If you’ve ever wondered what a museum owned by Wes Anderson, Barbie, and Alice in Wonderland would look like, then you absolutely must head to the Museum of Ice Cream in Manhattan.
Unlike some museums which can be austere and stuffy — this one is really a playground meets art exhibit. It’s a gathering place for ice cream enthusiasts and those who just want to let loose and have some good, old fashioned, fun.
Spoiler Disclaimer!
This post is a pretty thorough run down of everything within the Museum of Ice Cream. If you’d rather be surprised than informed, stop reading!
Surprise!
The first part of the tour surprised me a bit. Evidently, we were to assume a whole new identity while in the museum. Each guest is instructed to create a new ‘ice cream identity’ and then write it on their name tag and wear it around everywhere. While most participants chose to go with wholesome options, I chose ‘sprinkle tits’ as my alias, because that’s just who I am. Judging from the reaction after announcing my new name aloud — I’d wager it was a crowd pleaser.
After changing your name and leaving your old life behind, you enter and ultra pink ice cream parlor where everyone is in an exceptionally stellar mood. You have the choice of keeping things simple with some pink soft serve on a waffle cone with sprinkles OR ordering a decadent alcohol infused beverage.
Moving on are a series of “Alice in Wonderland” style rooms including a buffet of sweets. All of the treats on display are plastic, except for a tray of eclairs at the end, the prize at the end of the tunnel so to speak. Enjoy a dance party in a room of mirrors and open up doors to see what’s behind them.
More, more pink!
There’s an overarching theme of fun fluffiness around the museum and that’s super apparent when you’re whisked onto the entirely pink subway which ‘pulls’ you through what looks like cotton candy clouds.
As a native New Yorker, I so appreciated the cleanliness of this subway. If the “Q” train looked that sparkling and dreamy, I wouldn’t waste money on Ubers every week of my life.
Feel like unleashing your inner toddler or child? Then don’t miss the opportunity to jump around in the bouncy house or to crawl through a tunnel of sprinkles.
Can I just remark how utterly impressed I am with Amanda’s ability to crawl around in her third trimester of pregnancy?!
Bananas!
There’s an exhibit full of hanging rubbery bananas where you should absolutely pose with them as if you’re talking into the phone. Or just look overwhelmed by the number of bananas like I do here.
Somewhere among all of this malarkey and madness you’ll be gifted your second dose of ice cream deliciousness.
And then it’s onto the tunnel slide. Let me be clear, I was extremely reluctant. I haven’t been in a tunnel slide since…pre school? And nobody tells you where it leads, they just tell you to get in. So I did, and it kind of felt like it went on forever. AND THEN IT GOES PITCH BLACK! Talk about a panic inducing moment, holy shit. But winding up inside an ice cream cavern was pretty freaking dope!
This is where the best sample flavor of all is stored…the soft serve coconut. Without exaggeration this was the best ice cream I’ve ever had. Coconut tends to take the form of a refreshing ice most of the time, but this was creamy and fluffy and light. Yum yum yum!
Soon after, don’t miss your chance to buzz around inside of a giant bee hive.
And you can really let loose in the play room by jumping in the ball pit, swinging to your heart’s content, and climbing on the fabric blocks.
Sprinkle pool!
Finally, the part that everyone looks forward to — diving into the sprinkle pool! I kind of imagined an eight foot pool full of actual sprinkles, but I’m also sometimes not the brightest cherry on the sundae.
The pool is actually quite shallow and the sprinkles are made of a spongy material and each one is pretty big — definitely not edible. But still, you can go down the slide and make ‘sprinkle angels’ which was pretty insane.
It’s only at the end of the museum that you realize how truly carefree the past few hours have been. We laughed so incredibly hard and went in with no expectations or foresight — every room, every twist and turn was a true surprise which was a nice change of pace considering we’re Olympians in the realm of planning, scheduling, and organizing things.
I think the museum does an exceptional job in forcing people to go back to their childhood and re-live those joyous, carefree, silly and creative moments. The phrase, ‘felt like a kid again’ is so often overused, but definitely applies here with all legitimacy!
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