There has been this interesting trend over the last year of museums that are popping up pretty much with the purpose of being photo-ops for Instagram.  It has inspired me to create the Museum of Modern Butts – aka MOMButts.  Until MOMButts comes to fruittion, there are two pop-up museums currently running in San Francisco: the Color Factory and the Museum of Ice Cream.  Last Friday I finally made it to the museum of ice cream in San Francisco, which means I can now do a comparison between the two  🙂

The Color Factory

The color factory has been open in San Francisco since August 7 this year, but the initial block of tickets were sold out before it was even on my radar.  I experienced the Color Factory in September.

Pros:

• Really cool exhibits
• Exhibits were interactive
• You can take really great photos there

Cons:

• Very short
• Did not have a lot of “extras”

Highlights

I really enjoyed the room where the instagram selfies were getting printed out.  It was cool to take a selfie, post it to instagram, and then get it printed out.  Also, there was a room with LEDs of alternating colors, got some great photos in that room. And of course, the ball pit was a blast!

Takeaway

The Color Factory feels like an art museum in some senses.  Every room is an exhibit that can stand alone, but it still maintains a flow.  From my perspective, it felt very much like a playground for adults.  Overall  it was fun, but I was left wanting more.

Museum of Ice Cream

Museum of Ice Cream is more established than the Color Factory, it has already made a few stops before getting to San Francisco.  Based on photos I have seen online, there are slight variations for city to city.  Tickets for Museum of Ice Cream were an equal challenge.

Pros:

• You get a lot of treats
• Some pretty interesting history

Cons:

• Long queues throughout the museum
• Less diversity for photo opportunities

Highlights

The experience started out with a whole It’s-It (Bay Area ice cream sandwich for those who are unfamiliar).  The ice cream in the unicorn room was also very tasty.  Got some great photos in the sprinkle pool, but my absolute highlight was the swings at the end.  I got a little over zealous on the last swing and dented one of the cans on the wall – Oops!

Takeaway

Museum of Ice Cream has more of a history museum vibe.  There are sets, but they are candy-themed. There is a candy/ice cream theme (obviously).  My big issue with Museum of Ice Cream was the long queues (particularly before the unicorn), and I did have a big group of kids who entered the museum around the same time as me.  But, I really shouldn’t have eaten beforehand – they are not stingy on treats!

Verdict

In my opinion, I think they were both about $5 too expensive. but I thought Museum of Ice Cream was a bigger bang for your buck.  I had fun at both, and I took better pictures at Color Factory, but Museum of Ice Cream was a lot of fun and a really great date night!  If you are only going to go to one, I would choose Museum of Ice Cream.

You can keep up to date on the ticket situation for Color Factory here and the Museum of Ice Cream here.