Boston, are you ready to rediscover your inner child? (Think unlimited ice cream and a world-famous sprinkle pool.) The Museum of Ice Cream is opening in the city's Seaport District on Saturday, and the co-founder says it will blow your mind.
The company's sixth and newest permanent museum, located at 121 Seaport Boulevard, is opening after two years of development and will offer a playful escape for locals and visitors alike.
There will be magical spaces and immersive experiences celebrating the historic city including FunWay Park -- a baseball-themed carnival inspired by Fenway -- and the Cookie Living Room, with cookie-inspired décor and hidden surprises.
"This is a place of joy and connection. This is your dream," co-founder Manish Vora said. "Think Willy Wonka meets your favorite ice cream shop meets a modern art museum of play and nostalgia and it's as much about ice breaking as about eating unlimited ice cream, having fun, going down a slide, swimming in sprinkles, learning about the history of ice cream and invention. We have it all here."
They'll also be keeping things Boston-centric with exclusive flavors like "Lobstah Ice Cream."
"Museum of Ice Cream Boston, we of course have odes to all kinds of different ice cream flavors and some nostalgia from Friendly's to our signature treat currently which is going to be a Lobstah Roll ice cream and we're talking nothing that you've expected," Vora explained. "This isn't necessarily just going to taste like lobster roll. You will be consuming a lobster roll and even designing your own ice cream flavor in our flavor lab."
There will be new ice cream flavors coming through the museum throughout the season, Vora added. Visitors to the museum will be able to get drinks, cocktails, and milkshakes, of course.
"At the Museum of Ice Cream, it's not just about about seeing things. You are going to be immersed in ice cream. We're talking about a first ever Chipwich family room where you're going to be discovering secret doors in a room of freezers. And then even in the experience of learning about ice cream, we're going to have the ultimate toppings game, learning about ice cream flavors from around the world, maybe the history of ice cream, the inventors who have created some of the greatest brands," Vora said. "And of course the main thing here is that you'll be trying ice cream throughout the experience. We have unlimited ice cream for you...you're gonna spend a half of a day here and have the best time of your life."
This is the 12th Museum of Ice Cream. There were previously six pop-ups and now Boston joins permanent locations in New York City, Chicago, Austin, Miami and Singapore.
"We are here to stay. This is a permanent Museum of Ice Cream in Boston. This is our next generation...this is the most advanced interactive museum. So those fans who have been going to New York and Miami and other cities to go to the Museum of Ice Cream, the Boston museum is going to blow your mind," Vora claimed. "And that means for all of you guys out there who are coming, make sure you come hungry because don't forget it's unlimited ice cream at the Museum of Ice Cream."
The museum, which requires tickets, will be open to the public six days a week. The grand opening is Saturday, Dec. 14, and Vora says weekends are selling out really quickly.
According to Vora, it was originally designed for adults but is perfect for families, too.
"The Museum of Ice Cream, my partner and I really built this experience for adults. We had been working in the art world designing experiences and wanting to make art accessible. I grew up here in Wayland, Massachusetts, exposed to the best museums, Isabella Stewart Gardner, the MFA. Boston is culture, but Boston is culture and ice cream," he explained. "The original museum was designed for adults in mind, for us to let go, to connect through the power of ice cream, and that is how this museum has been formed."
"Eight years ago when we started this museum as a popup, we never imagined that we'd be building a flagship museum in Boston Seaport, in a place I grew up," he continued. "It's really been an amazing journey to come here in this transformation of this neighborhood. The Seaport known now for nightlife and experiences and we're really going to be an anchor to a whole new era of the Seaport with family friendly experiences, and of course for you adults, coming in for date night or with your group of friends, we have the most fun ice breaking, date night, connection spot in Boston."
Vora says throw all your expectations out before going because you're in for surprises at every corner, with secret treats from local Boston places like The Half Cookie.
"You're going to find, you're going to discover, you're going to scream for ice cream."
