The Color Factory, NYC: ball pits are all fun and games until you lose your phone
The last trip I made before the world shut down was a whirlwind 5 nights in New York City at the beginning of February 2020 before the world changed.
It was my fourth visit to the big city so I really wanted to try and do something different and new among the traditions that my sister and I had established over the years.
Within five minutes of perusing Instagram I came across Color Factory, an interactive, immersive museum experience in Soho.
“Color Factory is an experiential art exhibit inspired by the joy of color. Launched in San Francisco in 2017 by a team of artists and creatives, Color Factory creates meaningful and immersive color experiences for all. While the company has since grown and expanded, the core elements remain the same: Color Factory embraces child-like imagination, while expanding boundaries of perception and understanding.
In August 2018, a whole new palette came to New York City in SoHo’s Hudson Square neighborhood. In 20,000 square feet, we feature brand-new participatory installations of colors we’ve collected around the city— hues that invite curiosity, discovery and play. Some of our favorite artists, creatives, designers and makers are teaming up with us to tell their unique color stories and engage all of your senses in unexpected ways.
We hope that the palette and projects offered within Color Factory will connect you to the colorful moments around New York and in your own daily life.”
There are 16 rooms throughout the exhibit, each featuring different colours, themes, activities and snacks, put together by 21 artists, designers, and food vendors from across the city.
For a place that is made for influencers and Instagram shoots, drawing on the need for selfies and posing for the perfect photos, it could easily have become somewhere uncomfortable for people who aren't yet completely comfortable with having their photo taken or posing completely unironically (ie. me). And yet it wasn't. The whole experience was completely positive.
I smiled and laughed all the way around.
I did get some dud photos, but I only got those duds because I was willing to actually take them in the first place and risk looking silly. In the end, I got some that I actually liked and I was able to laugh at the unflattering or ridiculous ones, even while in the ball pit with an influencer (who I later realised was the completely wonderful colormecourtney) who was having proper fancy photos taken of her in a gorgeous dress, perfect hair and flawless make-up.
We were the first ones in the ball pit, exchanged smiles and went on with diving into the balls (me) and taking gorgeous photos (Courtney).
When you leave the exhibit you can even get a map of spots across SoHo called the Manhattan Color Walk featuring extended installations out in the wild.
I honestly can't recommend enough making a trip out to Color Factory if you're in the area. The museum was full of people of all ages and everyone seemed to be having an absolute ball, especially the little ones who were staring in awe at all the lights, colours and the giant ball pit!
We arrived early and booked the first slot which was nice and quiet, but as we left two hours later it was heaving so I highly recommend that option.
The Facts
You cannot buy tickets on the door. They have to be purchased in advance online.
It takes about an hour to get through the museum.
It's open from 9:30-6:30 Thursday to Tuesday (closed on Wednesday) and the slots are offered every 15 minutes with the final slot at 5pm.
Tickets are around $38 for an adult, $28 for kids under 12.
There's also a Color Factory in Houston, Texas.
DON'T LOSE YOUR PHONE IN THE BALL PIT. Put it in your bra or keep it in your hand - the back pocket of your skinny jeans is just not secure. My sister will attest to that…
My sister did get her phone back, but it ended up costing us about 3 hours of our final day in the city and our plan to go over to Brooklyn, go to DUMBO and then walk the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan was sacrificed. Marlene, who found the phone, was utterly wonderful and went above and beyond to help us out. Thank you, Marlene!
Kind of amazingly, Color Factory NYC is open at the moment and you can book tickets right here.
Written by Sophie
