Before taking a trip to San Francisco last year, I wanted to travel to the Color Factory which was introduced to me through an advertisement on a Snap Chat trendy cooking account. I realized it was something that I needed to experience myself. The ad included panning of rooms with vibrant colors and shapes. It literally looked like a funhouse for adults! Sadly, I found out that the Color Factory moved to New York City a month before my trip to San Francisco.
During the second week of August, me and my boyfriend planned a trip to the Color Factory. With taxes, the tickets were almost $50, but if this was comparable to the Ice Cream Museum in San Francisco then the price was worth it. The museum is located in SoHo so it was away from the ever congested Time Square and Mid-town region in general. As soon as we entered, a pleasant young man greeted us and asked for our IDs and tickets that were sent via text. We were on a line with other people waiting, and I realized from hearing one of the workers explain what we would expect that we were going to be doing this excursion during the weekend rush. The weekend rush included children and in my honest opinion, this sort of ruined my experience. While there weren’t a lot of children in our group, it would have been nice to choose a time slot for adults only. I also did not think this was going to be a facility for children at all.
Something else that I immediately noticed was how clumsy the “check in†room was. This space was super tiny, so it was hard to understand what was going on. There was a woman giving out mochi ice cream, there was a coat and bag check, there was a line of people waiting to go into the introductory room, and there was a group of people sitting down on concrete benches. One of the workers explained what we needed to do before getting started, but I could barely hear her directions. The introductory room contained a video explaining safety rules and policies. We then went into another room where we scanned a card on an iPad to collect our photos from the “photo booth†in each room. The set up was to scan your card before using the built in cameras that were mounted in some of the rooms. The photos would then be sent to your email account. I thought that was a really ingenious feature…..but just wait for my analyses on this as a whole.
I won’t explain every single room, but I will explain my experience as a whole. Each room was meant to tap into your senses through colors. There were also some personality tests that revealed your true color and why you gravitated towards a certain color (e.g. the button room). The rooms were also art exhibits created by different artists, and they did explain this prior to going into each room. I thought that was pretty cool.
Here is the part where I am going to be very frank. The Color Factory experience as a whole just ok. In fact, I was excited when it was over. There I said it! We had staff accompany us in every room, crevasse, and cranny. There was even a part where me and my boyfriend had to draw each other and listen to a recording to guide us, and yes you guessed it, we had a few staff members literally stand behind us while we were drawing our pictures. One of the staff members directed me on how to tear my picture out of the note pad. Really?
Most of the “photo booths†did not take the best pictures. In most rooms, the lighting was poor. The “X†on the floor that was meant to guide someone on where to stand wasn’t always accurate either. Furthermore, the staff in the rooms did nothing to control when it was your turn to take a picture. There were times I wanted to re-take a photo, but someone would step in to take their picture.
I also felt that there were too many directions we had to follow. I had to constantly read the wall or the floor to figure out what I needed to do. There was a room where you would open the door into a closet like room, based on the questions you answered on the floor. It was a mini psychology test. I thought that was such a cute idea. But then as soon as I was going to find out the color that truly described me, there was someone in the room and I felt really embarrassed. I then asked if someone who worked the room could assist me. Load and behold there was a pictograph of directions on the door. I know this sounds like I am aimlessly complaining, but I am not trying to do all this direction reading in a free spirited, artsy-fartsy fun house. Also, comparing this to the Ice Cream Museum, I knew what this place could have been.
We did receive tasty snacks in some of the rooms, and they were very strict on the “one snack per person†rule, which is very understandable. However, as we were leaving I decided to finally try the mochi ball that I did not try upon arrival. I did think it was a parting snack after all. The woman serving the mochi told me that I could not receive this snack because I was leaving the Color Factory and this snack was only for people entering the museum. If I paid money to observe each room and to eat each snack, what difference does it make? I just felt like I was in a kindergarten with too many rules and technicalities. It didn’t make me feel good at all.
So, let’s talk about the ball pit. I believe this was the last room of the factory. The room and the balls were a nice calming blue color. When me and my boyfriend entered the room, we saw tons of children swimming in the pit along with young women trying to get the perfect picture. My boyfriend opted out as soon as he noticed kids in the pit, which makes sense. One of the workers explained that we needed to take our shoes off and told us about the cameras mounted to the ceiling for us to take pictures. As soon as I was about to go into the pit entrance behind her, she quickly snapped at me and told me I could not go that way. I have no idea why, but this was the general undertone of the workers. They had very little patience when they explained some of the rules, which were not very obvious to someone who has never been to this museum. I understand their frustration. I’m sure they have to tell people the same thing constantly, and that can become very tedious. But for the customer, it does not make for a pleasant experience. After she snapped at me, I asked the other worker on the other side of the pit if I can use the entrance. She was very cool and collected and told me that it didn’t matter which way I went.
As soon as I stepped inside the pit, I noticed the dark colored dirt that accumulated on all the light blue balls. The cold pieces of filthy plastic went up my dress and hit my lady parts. I felt so grossed out! I wanted to run and take a shower. I also did not have socks, so I felt super grossed out from this experience. As I was searching for the overhead camera, I lightly stepped on a soft, moving body and realized I almost stepped on a child swimming inside the pit. I apologized to the child and his guardian but they both laughed and seemed unaffected. I took my overhead picture, and immediately left the pit.
When I got to my belongings, I applied the rest of my ocean citrus hand sanitizer all over my legs and feet. Before exiting the room, I made sure to pick up my pretty sky blue ice cream (which was the snack of the room). I was so relieved when I saw the gift shop because I knew the experience was over.
I whole heartedly believe that the Color Factory in San Francisco was way better than the one they are operating in New York. The rooms looked way better and I am not sure why the rooms changed at the New York City facility. The ball pit was yellow in San Fran which I thought was a much better color than calm blue. My boyfriend believed that if we went during a weekday evening, it would have been a better experience with less kids. But personally, I don’t think that would have helped. The Color Factory lacked what the Ice Cream Museum had, and that had to do with the energy I received from the staff and the order and flow of the rooms. I also felt that I was entering a rule based institute instead of an art filled sensory experience. This was not the Color Factory I fell in love with through Snap Chat. Maybe this experience just showed me that not everything is as it seems on social media, or maybe the one in San Francisco was a much better operation. Whatever the case may be, I am glad I experienced this place for myself.