We all scream for ice cream: Museum of Ice Cream opening permanent location in New York City

NEW YORK — A visit to the Museum of Ice Cream's new permanent flagship location in New York City is an experience more delicious than a banana split and a sundae. 

The strawberry-scoop-colored walls of the museum lobby welcome guests into a sugary ice cream dream.

First, guests pick their "ice cream name," with inspiration from a wall of already named celebrities including: "Anderson Scooper," "Kanye Zest," "Justin Timbershake" and "Oprah Winfreeze." Then the tour begins: In the first room scoopers provide small, cherry-topped dishes as a singer in a cone crown croons to guests walking through: “The name on everybody’s lips is gonna be, ice cream!"

Manish Vora, co-founder of the Museum of Ice Cream, which opens its New York City location Saturday, thinks the frozen dairy treat is just the thing to bring people together in a positive way.

After all, what brings more joy than ice cream?

Vora called the opening the completion of "a three-year dream."

Ahead of the New York opening, the Museum of Ice Cream opened a permanent location in San Francisco, and has had pop-ups in Los Angeles, Miami and two pop-ups in NYC. It's sweet, sweet doors first opened at an NYC pop-up in 2016. 

"MOIC NYC will build upon guest demand and our commitment to imagination," said Vora. "It's our biggest, most imaginative location to date."

The new museum features 13 installations.

"Inside, guests can find a three-story slide, New York-inspired 'Celestial Subway,' giant hall of scoops, 'Queen Bee hive' and our biggest sprinkle pool to date," Vora explained. "Additionally, we'll have a publicly accessible retail shop and cafe."

On the 'Celestial Subway' riders can even read the Museum of Ice Cream's own publication: "The Inside Scoop."

And after a "wheeeee!"-inducing slide ride, guests enter the melting cave, and after a walk through the dimly lit area, are rewarded with a soft-serve vanilla cone topped off with vanilla sprinkles. 

After playing cone-hoop basketball or swinging in a rainbow-colored room, guests can slide into the sprinkle pool, which features jumbo-sized sprinkles – but they aren't real, so don't try to eat your way out.

There's even an adult-only section at the sprinkles pool in the same vicinity – for parents who need a little time to themselves after all that sugary fun.

The new location in New York City is located at 558 Broadway. The museum is open Wednesdays through Mondays from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets cost $39; children 2 and under are free.