This article was written by Carrie Kuecks, class of 2019.
Located in the Faena Art District, 3400 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach, the Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC), serves up smiles (and ice cream of course) for its visitors. MOIC Miami distinguishes itself from any other museum in South Florida primarily because it is a temporary pop-up museum only open through Jan. 22, 2018. Although the museum artfully displays ice cream, providing samples along the way, the space features aesthetically-pleasing rooms that are thoughtfully designed, picturesque and instagram-worthy.
Before entering the museum, a “fortune teller” greets each group and makes a unique and welcoming prediction of your experience throughout the museum. Next, visitors are led into an open atrium where a briefing is held explaining the artful purposes of MOIC Miami. Upon entering the first room, a 50s diner theme with music and dancing employees captures every sense. Rather than employees handing out samples, this room featured a lengthy moving conveyor belt where small portions of chocolate ice cream with pink whipped cream are served. Creativity continues into the next room decorated from floor to ceiling in pink and gold, with chairs provided for visitors to lounge about and stay awhile. Every room, hallway, stair and balcony features ice cream art and colorful displays inspired by Miami’s Art Deco designs.
One of the rooms has a “jungle” theme filled with palm trees and a banana and cherry swing to take pictures. Samples of chocolate-covered bananas were distributed to match the room’s decor. Additionally, the museum includes a “secret room” filled with mirrored coconuts on all four walls and the ceiling. As visitors move through each room, every surface is painted and layered with artistic touches that are interesting and fun.
Following the jungle-themed room, the next room environment was filled with images of melted vanilla ice cream in a milk carton, which was later served to visitors. A room with pink sandcastles (inspired by Miami’s beaches) and even a room dedicated to gummy candies that offered an abundance of samples followed.
The rooftop deck of the museum offers the most picturesque view of Miami Beach. Samples of key lime pie ice cream compliments the stunning ocean view perfectly. The deck also has hula hoops, shuffleboard and ping pong for guests to play. The top floor includes a hanging popsicle wall filled with thousands of colorful plastic popsicles. Taking photos reaches a pinnacle in the final room that includes a sprinkle pool filled with millions of tiny non-edible plastic sprinkles to dive into. This is the only room with a time limit (two minutes).
A small gift shop sells MOIC merchandise to take home (t-shirts, pins, pink whipped cream and jewelry). Other locations where MOIC is currently located include San Francisco and Los Angeles. MOIC tickets must be purchased in advance on museumoficecream.com and cost $38.
