Ice Cream Museum of San Francisco Review Tips and Tricks
When A was a toddler, we did a ton of family days. Since I’ve been back to work all of that slowed down. Weekends are typically for errands, gymnastics and lazy afternoons in front of the tv. One goal this year was for more family adventures so when the Ice Cream Museum announced that they were opening one in San Francisco, I made it a point to get tickets.
I won’t go into all the details of the long online wait for tickets or how many times I refreshed the ticket purchase page. Thank goodness for P who was able to score tickets, ON HIS PHONE, at a restaurant in Las Vegas. Since I couldn’t find much on the experience when we bought tickets, I wanted to put together a post that discussed Ice Cream Museum San Francisco review and tips!
The Ice Cream Museum was a fantastic way to spend time as a family. The colors, tastes, and tactile installations- the kids and adults all had equal amounts of fun. I think my kids favorite part was the sprinkle pool but they also loved exploring the rooms that had fun activities. We spent at least 25 minutes in the magnet room alone, writing messages and their favourite thing to eat was easily the glitter cotton candy and the vanilla soft serve.
On a personal note, it was so hard for me to just let go and have fun. I realized within 5 minutes that I wasn’t going to be able to photograph everything and if I tried I just wasn’t going to have any fun. Once I put the camera down after a few snaps in each room, I was able to enjoy each space with my girls!
Our visit spurred a few challenges so here are a few Ice Cream Museum San Francisco review and tips!
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1. What is the Ice Cream Museum!?
The Ice Cream Museum is an interactive museum that is all about ice cream! You can wade through a pool of non-edible sprinkles, sample ice cream from Bi-Rite, hide out in a tiny mirror room, play ping pong, sample mocha balls and lots of other fun things!
2. Have a Parking Plan…and a Backup!
The website has two options for parking but we found that the Ofarrell garage was closer to the actual museum. We initially were going to park at the garage adjacent to the Westfield mall but the line to get it was pretty long. Do some research and have an idea of what garages you want to park at before you head into SF.
3. Bring a Good Camera!
I brought my phone and my DSLR and used both a ton in the space. Since the lighting has lots of yellow and pink tints be prepared to have to manipulate your photos. I would say that every room in the museum has a fun item or food to photograph! We saw lots of visitors taking selfies, posting to Instagram and Twitter!
4. The Sprinkle Pool is a messy but fun experience!
The Sprinkle Pool was easily the most popular room. You only get to go in for about 5 minutes so be prepared. There are lockers to put your items in and you have to go into the pool barefoot. beware that you will have sprinkles everywhere when you get out. There is a separate room that has air sprayers to help get them off but let’s be clear, you are going to go home with sprinkles stuck to you!
5. Explore + Taste
The Ice Cream Museum takes visitors in small increments. We went on a weekday and while there were lots of other people I didn’t feel like each room was so crowded that we couldn’t explore it. The longest wait was for the sprinkle pool and even then it was only 15 minutes. During that time the staff played games with the girls (beach ball volleyball) and we took the opportunity to play with the sprinkle waterfall.
Other rooms had video and photo machines to do quick shots. We were able to email photo and video of ourselves! At the end of the tour, the museum has a ton of cute items, water and candy for sale. The Ice Cream Museum doesn’t take cash for the shop or ice cream counter. So bring a credit card!
Overall my family had a great time at the Museum and with some planning ahead, you can too!
