6 Sweet Reasons to Visit the Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco

A rainbow sprinkle pool, a gummy garden, and ice cream installations galore: Stepping into this museum is like realizing your childhood dreams.

6 Sweet Reasons to Visit the Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco

At San Francisco’s Museum of Ice Cream, some rooms contain interactive games while others offer sweet treats, like exclusive flavors from local Bi-Rite creamery.

Photo by Samantha Juda

The Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) opened its San Francisco pop-up in September 2017 after majorly successful runs in both Los Angeles and New York City. (According to a report, tickets to all of the pop-ups sold out, with 30,000 tickets sold for Manhattan’s original MOIC.) Because the immersive installations were such a sweet success, MOIC SF now permanently sits in San Francisco’s Union Square.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Museum of Ice Cream (@museumoficecream) on Aug 22, 2017 at 12:05pm PDT


Ice cream-inspired installations
The Museum of Ice Cream is housed in a historical landmark building at One Grant Avenue in San Francisco’s Union Square. According to the founder and creative director Maryellis Bunn, the building—which served as a bank built over 100 years ago and more recently was the location of the San Francisco Emporio Armani store—felt like “the perfect place” to create the sweet tooth’s wonderland.

The vibrant museum transforms childhood dreams into reality; ice cream flavors and toppings come to life in “super cool” Wonka-like rooms, and delectable, edible ice cream treats are almost always on hand.

View this post on Instagram Inspired by a 1950’s diner, MARYE’S DINER, is a flashback that commemorates the quintessential American dining structure. Museum of Ice Cream teamed up with the best of San Francisco’s ice cream vendors, to serve on rotation, an original ice cream flavor, made EXCLUSIVELY for Museum of Ice Cream San Francisco. Make sure you stop my MARYE’S DINER when you visit Museum of Ice Cream San Francisco to taste our SCOOP OF THE MONTH! #museumoficecream A post shared by Museum of Ice Cream (@museumoficecream) on Sep 19, 2017 at 9:37am PDT


Boasting creative, color psychology–inspired exhibits and a playful, modern design, the Museum of Ice Cream unlocks a world of imagination for and from its visitors.

We’re not sure whether we’re more excited by the multiple treats included with admission or the museum’s famous Sprinkle Pool—but we do know that the combination may just make it the most Instagrammable site in town.

Click through the slideshow below to check out six reasons why you need to visit the spot—then purchase your tickets here.

Inside the Museum of Ice Cream

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Follow @museumoficecream on Instagram.

This article originally appeared online in September 2017; it has been updated to include current information.

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