This summer I started getting wind of a new pop-up experience in San Francisco called the Color Factory. It was built by Oh Happy Day which is a fun and colorful design and lifestyle blog that I follow and is my go-to for party & entertaining ideas. A few images started popping up in my Instagram feed and I thought it looked pretty cool (like the blog) so I decided to get tickets and take my 10 and 7-year old. I even happened to get tickets for the first official day it was open to the public, August 1st.
From the second we walked in, everything was bright, colorful and cheery. It was impossible not to be in a good mood.
Each room was decorated in a different color with some sort of activity, like scratch & sniff walls, macaroon testing or trying something a little out of our comfort zone, like black lemonade which got its color from added charcoal! My 7-year-old wouldn’t touch it (besides to “cheers” with it), but my daughter & I tried it and it really did taste just like regular lemonade.
The blue room was filled with balloons and bouncy balls. When we checked in, we were each given a card with a barcode on the back (you can see mine in my hand below). In some of the rooms, they had cameras set up where we could scan our card, take a picture, and then they sent all the pictures to my email.
Each room brought my kids such joy. I was eager to see the surprises in store for us as we moved from room to room, but I let them linger for as long as they wanted provided they weren’t preventing others from enjoying the experience.
One of our favorite rooms just had 10,000 ribbons hanging from the ceiling. So simple, yet the kids loved walking through and popping their heads out in different places.
One thing I really liked about Color Factory was that we purchased our tickets for a particular day and time. This allowed us to see the exhibit and take our time as we moved through without navigating crowds or feeling rushed. I really appreciated this.
In the purple room, we took a selfie and then posted to Instagram with the hashtag #tomstayte and our picture printed out on a printer sitting in the middle of the room. Then we left it on the ground among thousands of other selfies.
The confetti room was amazing, but I can tell you that I am still finding pieces of confetti in my purse 3 months later.
The kids favorite room was a giant yellow ball pit. I’m surprised they didn’t end up kicking us out of here because we must have stayed a good 30 minutes in this room (which was also the last room).
On our way out of the yellow room, we got mini ice cream cones. We could choose between banana, vanilla or swirl. Delicious!
Things to Know
- Tickets must be purchased in advance. They are not available at the door. Tickets were only $35 each which I thought was a steal.
- It’s best to arrive at least 15 minutes before your entry time. If you arrive 30 minutes afterwards they won’t let you in!
- When you buy your ticket, you must provide a name for each ticket. Tickets are non-transferable. I had to show my ID to get in. ONE person’s ID in the party must match at least ONE name on the ticket – the rest of the names are interchangeable.
- Tickets are currently sold out in San Francisco through November. Like them on Facebook, follow them on Instagram, or sign-up to receive their newsletter which will let you know about another ticket release. The exhibit has been so well received in San Francisco, fingers crossed they continue to extend and/or open up new locations.
- I wasn’t thinking and we dressed in pretty “blah” colors. If you plan to take pictures, dressing in bright colors will certainly enhance your photos!
- On your way out, be sure to pickup a map of hidden Color Factory finds around San Francisco to keep the fun going.
2 comments
It looked liked great fun for Kate and Bennett!
Yes, they loved it! I felt a little guilty we didn’t bring Jack, but he had soccer camp and at the time said he didn’t want to go. Next time!