A Trip to the Museum of Ice Cream

I scream.

You scream.

We all scream for ICE CREAM.

For my birthday this year, I was surprised with a trip out west and got to visit San Francisco! Our time there was incredible! We had so many fun adventures in a short amount of time.

On the last day there, I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to The Museum of Ice Cream. I completely forgot they were located there and they only had one ticket left. So, of course I left H behind while I frolicked inside the most magical happiest museum there ever was. Some would say that this place doesn't count as a "museum" but I would disagree. Museums can be historical, full of art, and cultural. This had all three elements.

The ticket had a specific time on it in order to enter the museum and they broke everyone up into smaller groups. The first room housed a lot of different facts about ice-cream which were fun to learn about. Then we were slowly released to each room installation which housed a different theme and experience.

In one of the rooms I noticed a secret little doorway that you had to crawl into to find what was inside. I decided I had to see for myself so I stooped down low and crawled into the most wonderful thing of all!!! I was inside a disco ball! Dreams really do come true!

Many of the rooms would pass out treats: strawberry ice cream, pop rocks, cotton candy, mint mochi ice creams, popsicles, etc. And each room had a friendly MOIC team member to guide you through the experience and encourage you to participate and engage with your surroundings.

There has been news recently about the MOIC possibly banning cell phones (i.e.: no photos). Perhaps to counter-act our society constantly being glued to their phones instead of the experience. Or maybe to help with timing and letting everyone fully enjoy the space. I'm not sure of the exact reasoning but it makes you wonder what it would be like to walk through these extravagant spaces without documenting the fun, capturing the perfect photo, or creating a boomerang video. Would you appreciate your time there more or less?

Personally, I think that most of the rooms and installations were made specifically for stylish photo shoots. To not be allowed time for photos would be disappointing as photos help people look back and remember. I would often walk into the room, spot a few photographic moments to capture and then interact for the remainder of my time.

The entire museum was a full immersive art experience with each room inviting wonder, imagination, and play. But many spaces were designed for you to prop up and snap a pic. Wired.com aptly named these types of spaces "Selfie Factories." For good or for worse, taking photos of our experience to share with others or to keep for ourselves is deeply embedded into our culture. The act itself can certainly take away from the experience but it doesn't have to. What are your thoughts? How do you yourself engage in these environments?