“Sometimes I have crazy ideas, this is one of them. Ice cream is a passion and this is the project to share, lick and like it with the world.” – Maryellis Bunn, Founder

When I heard there was going to be a pop-up museum of ice cream in NYC this summer I knew Sandra and I had to go! Lucky for us we were able to swing it as a business trip and visit on a Monday because tickets, especially for the weekend dates, sold out fast! It was supposed to end today, the last day of August, but it has been so popular they extended it through mid-September. 

The museum is small, but in true Willy Wonka fashion there is something edible in each room! We were greeted with Nerds and continued through the entrance to a counter where we got a small cup of the ice cream sample of the week – taro flavored ice cream from Chinatown Ice Cream Parlor. After quickly devouring that we proceeded into the Cone Room where we were given an eatable balloon! This was SO cool! It is made of boiled down sugar and water and blown up with helium! When you popped it with your teeth you got a shot of helium and a short-lived, but hilariously squeaky voice. 

We continued through the Scooper Room to the Chocolate Room where you could relax on a bean bag while eating snowcaps and becoming completely immersed in the scent and sensation of being inside chocolate dream world 🙂 

Then there came THE SPRINKLE POOL! 

No, they are not real sprinkles… 

But they made for some pretty cool photo ops!

We felt like children at recess in the sprinkle pool because the attendant was timing us – you are only allowed 3 minutes in the sprinkle pool before you have to give someone else a turn and they bribed you with candy from Dylan’s Candy Bar to get out, hehe. 

When we entered the next room they gave us a chewable tablet that alters your taste buds. Moments later ice cream cones topped with lemon slices appeared one at a time from the hands of what we can only assume were Oompa Loompas. The tablets made the lemons a top the ice cream taste sweet. Just like the taste bud altering candy Willy Wonka was experimenting with so many moons ago in his chocolate factory. The museum carried extra sentiment when we found out later that day that Gene Wilder – the original Willy Wonka – had passed away. As fans of his work we like to think we were paying tribute to him 🙂 

Some may think the museum was a little cheesy or maybe not worth $15 and a trip to NYC, but we were highly amused and think it was worth every penny 🙂 

Though the museum was the driving reason for our trip, we were also able to scope out the ice cream scene in NYC doing lots of market research and of course taste testing! A review of our favorite NYC ice cream spots will be coming to the blog on Friday – stay tuned!