We’re smack in the middle of winter here in NYC. What better place is there to visit in rock bottom temperatures than an entire museum paying homage to our favorite frozen treat: ice cream?
The Museum of Ice Cream started out in 2016 as a Manhattan popup exhibit, but quickly expanded to open more locations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami. The exhibit was met much enthusiasm, leading to the popups first permanent location at 558 Broadway.
Once I saw the Facebook ads, I knew I had to get into the place. Pools full of rainbow sprinkles? Giant ice cream cones? Free samples? Count me in! So I roped in a friend, ordered our tickets online, and psyched myself up for an awesome experience. I was not disappointed.
When we first came in for our appointment time (tickets must be purchased in advance, in the specific time slot you plan to be there for), we were met by a floor to ceiling display of fluffy white unicorns. Walking further, we noticed the freezers chock full of signature ice cream flavors, including Queen Bee, Churro Churro, and Nana Banana.
The employees, dressed in brown slacks and pink shirts to mimic ice cream cones, checked our reservations and led us to a very pink door. There, the designated doorman began his spiel, telling us all about how the museum began, and what was waiting for us behind the door. Though it was obviously rehearsed, it did not take away from our enthusiasm.
Intro complete, Mr. Cream (according to his name tag), led us through the door. A smiling girl was ready at the counter, handing out samples.
Next, we were brought to a room with a giant table covered in delicious looking desserts. Unfortunately, they were all fake. The cake pops Mr. Cream had ready to distribute, however, were not.
With his part finished, Mr. Cream invited us to explore for ourselves, starting with the subway. The subway car looked exactly like a regular New York subway car, complete with moving ads, except that the train was pink, and the ads and stop names all involved ice cream in some way or another. We had a blast posing for pics in the pseudo subway, before continuing on with our ice cream adventure.
That place is trippy beyond anything you’ve ever experienced, let me tell you. Dozens of crazy photo ops. For those who are into Instagram-able experiences, the museum has various whimsical photo frames you can scan from bar codes on the walls. There’s a hall of scoops, with giant scoopers full of ice cream to pose with. A room comprised entirely of magenta and yellow colored hanging bananas.
There’s even a night club, where visitors are invited to rock out on the dance floor, swing from rings coming out of the walls, and live out their dreams of being DJs, with turntables and records to scratch. Anything goes here. You’re encouraged to let go of your reservations and just let it all out and have fun. Everyone cheered for the elderly couple dancing a salsa, and nobody said boo when I skidded across the floor and fell gracefully on my rear for a spectacular finish.
There was a three-story slide down to a room celebrating the museum’s Queen Bee flavor, a delicious mixture of honey ice cream, mixed with English toffee, almonds, and chocolate covered honeycomb. Of course, samples were distributed, a they were the taste dreams are made of. I posed on the throne, designed to resemble bee wings. A shiny gold crown was thoughtfully supplied, which I immediately placed on my head, claiming my kingdom. Unfortunately, I had to give up the crown to the next visitor waiting to get a photo. Easy come, easy go, I guess!
Yet another attraction was the ice cream themed playground, with spoon shaped seesaws, ball pits full of foam ice cream cones, and arcade style basketballs, with waffle cones for nets. After we got sufficiently dizzy on the seesaw, we headed for the pièce de résistance: the sprinkle pool.
The sprinkle pool was absolutely insane. Kids and adults alike dove into the colorful pool. Employees on all sides were busy sweeping the foam sprinkles back into the pool, and tossing cherry red inflatable beach balls to the excited kids. I had a blast burying myself in sprinkles, sliding down, and just relaxing in the pool!
Two and a half hours flew by, and we made our way back to the beginning. All that swimming worked up an appetite, so we decided to indulge in even more ice cream. The cafe was a bit overpriced, with each scoop adding a whopping six dollars to the bill, but I’ll admit, that Queen Bee flavor was worth it. I’m STILL thinking about that ice cream, and it’s been over a week! Make sure you have a card to pay, because they don’t accept cash.
All in all, we had a great time. If you’re looking for something fun and crazy to do, the Museum of Ice Cream is the way to go.
The Junction Journal 