The Museum of Ice Cream: Sf's Sweetest Gallery

"The Museum of Ice Cream draws in all kinds of people. The museum doesn’t just appeal to kids, it’s for anyone and everyone who wants to have fun." - Danielle Griffith

Ice cream is a staple treat of nearly every American’s childhood. From chasing down the ice cream truck, to having this tasty dessert as your reward, many kids are heavily influenced by ice cream. Thankfully, we can relive our childhood once again, courtesy of Museum of Ice Cream founders Maryellis Bunn and Manish Vora.

The Museum of Ice Cream is the ultimate ice cream fanatic hub. It features art pieces dedicated to ice cream, candy, unicorns, and to relive your childhood. The Museum of Ice Cream draws in all kinds of people. The museum doesn’t just appeal to kids, it’s for anyone and everyone who wants to have fun.
In a May Forbes interview, Bunn recalls feeling like “there was nothing new to do in New York City,” and wanting something that can connect with millennials. Bunn channeled her undying love for ice cream into a museum, and her museum quickly became a sensation. Bunn has managed to achieve all of her success at the young age of twenty-five.

The idea for a museum dedicated to ice cream is rooted from her childhood dreams. Bunn grew up by the ocean, and often dreamt about an ocean full of sprinkles that she could swim in. Through the power of sponsors and her own pocket, Bunn and co-founder Vora were able to establish the first Museum of Ice Cream in New York, and create the famous sprinkle pool as one of the exhibits. The museum was an overwhelming hit. Bunn had arrived opening day to a slew of ice cream fanatics who had slept outside of the venue for the advertised free admission. Since then, the pop-up museum had migrated to Los Angeles and is currently stationed in San Francisco. Of course I had to see what all of the hype was about, especially because I saw two of my favorite things at the Los Angeles location via Instagram: Beyonce and unicorns.

I successfully acquired two tickets before they sold out in minutes. The demand for tickets was so high, the ticket website had to direct me to an online waiting room and had me wait in line for access for the available days. After about 10 minutes of waiting, I was in the system. I had bought tickets two months ahead of time, since none were available for the next month and a half, unless I wanted to skip school and go at 11:30am on a Tuesday. So, I managed to set my evening reservation for October, Friday the 13th. I must say, this museum was by far one of the most creative uses of space that I have ever seen.

I began my adventure with my unicorn-loving, childhood friend Claire, and we were greeted by the tour guide with a beaming smile. She was covered head to toe in a pink and white ensemble - she looked like a giggling sprinkle.  Throughout my visit, every single employee I encountered was very warm, lively, and seemed to always have a smile on their face. The Museum of Ice Cream was designed to have “Instagram post friendly” lighting, so all of my photos turned out gorgeous. Claire and I proceeded to get distracted by the lighting and had a mini photoshoot. According to the official website, you should be able tour the museum in it’s entirety in around 45 minutes. However, if you are a mediocre photographer like me, it’ll take around an hour and a half. By my standards, and camera roll, the three best exhibits were the Rock Candy Cave, Unicorn Habitat and of course, THE SPRINKLE POOL!

I believe the Rock Candy Cave is very underrated. First of all, upon entering you receive a free bag of Pop Rocks! Who wouldn’t want free candy? The employee managing this room was amazing. Of course I was greeted by a smile, and she had great eyebrows, which was a plus. Without hesitation she asked if I wanted her to take our photo on the mount in front of the cave design. I accepted her offer, and we ran over to the seat. Thankfully, the grand lighting did it’s magic, and was not fazed by my camera’s flash. Our pictures came out with our eyes sparkling, and the rock candy was glowing above us.

Next up, the Unicorn Habitat. The rumor around the Museum of Ice Cream is that all of the ice cream they provide is made with unicorn milk. So, of course, the museum has a family of unicorns stationed at the museum. However, the tour guides would tell us that the generous unicorn family was shy, and that the patriarch would be the only unicorn we would see. In the Unicorn Habitat, Claire and I were  greeted by waves of color. The upbeat, colorful atmosphere proved to make meeting a unicorn even more fun than it already was! The head of the Bay Area unicorn family was named Grant, and Grant stood tall and proud with his white build and a shining gold horn. Grant was kind enough to let people take pictures with him and for kids (and adults) climb on him. 

Finally, the exhibit everyone loves...the sprinkle pool. Upon arriving at this unique exhibit, a tour guide lays out all the guidelines, namely:  don’t eat the sprinkles. Sadly, they are not real sprinkles, and you don’t want to eat that. After the safety precautions, about a dozen people are allowed in the pool for around ten minutes. Once your shoes and loose items are put away in the provided lockers, you can have all the fun you want in the pool of sprinkles. I didn’t see a single person not enjoy this exhibit. You are really able to let your inner child loose and have all the fun you want without being judged.

All in all, I would deem the Museum of Ice Cream a must do while it’s still in San Francisco. Unfortunately this was a pop up museum, and tickets had sold out for the season. Although it’s sold out, there will be future locations around the country, and hopefully the world, that will soon be available for you to let your inner child run wild.