I finally went to the Museum of Ice Cream.

For years I had put it off, and after l read the New York Times article asking, “Who Needs an Art Museum When There’s a Banana Room in Town?” my curiosity won out.

JP thought we were going to an actual museum about ice cream, and his delight at discovering unlimited ice cream may have been the best part of the evening.

I was intrigued for a different reason. Despite its name, it isn’t really a museum at all. There is one small display of historical objects—including an early ice cream scoop patented by Alfred L. Cralle, a Black inventor, in 1897—and a brief timeline on the wall. The rest felt much closer to Coney Island than to a museum: funhouse mirrors, a recreated subway car, and swimming pools filled with plastic sprinkles.

I expected it to be designed primarily for selfies. Instead, what I noticed was how much empty space there was for people simply to play.

The New York Times article quoted my former podcast guest Stephen Reily, who has spent years thinking deeply about the future of museums. I agree with Stephen that real museums need kids and their parents, and that conviction was reinforced as we wandered from room to room.

I left appreciating the distinction even more. There is room in the world for joy, spectacle, and unlimited ice cream. And there is something entirely different that happens in museums. They ask us to slow down, pay attention, and discover something we didn’t know before. I continue to believe we need both.

JP left talking about the ice cream. I left thinking about museums. And we both had an amazing time!