Sloomoo Institute, New York’s first and only slime “museum”, in Soho, Manhattan, has been generating a ton of buzz among moms and dads searching for fun indoor things to do with kids in New York, especially when it’s either rainy or face-numbingly cold.
Psst… Check out our list of rainy-day activities in New York City for big kids here! And for little ones here.
Sloomoo Institute opened at the end of October 2019, and will be open for 6 months in NYC before moving on to another city. However, as we’ve seen with Color Factory, experiences initially conceived of as pop-ups can go on to become permanent!
We went to check out this new opening to see whether it lives up to the hype, and to understand whether a whole experiential space dedicated to slime could entertain both me and my 9 year-old daughter.
Sloomoo, which is located on Broadway near Canal Street Subway Station, is in a regular store-front, meaning you can see inside from the street. However you don’t get a sense of just how big the 8,000 square foot space is until you “check in”, as only Sloomoo’s retail area is visible from the outside. You can enter the Sloomoo store to purchase slime and slime accessories (yup, that’s a thing) without needing a ticket.
After checking in with a welcoming staff member, you are given a sticker with your “slime name” which is just your name with all the vowels changed to “oo”, so my name was “Hoostoor”. All Sloomoo staff members are dressed in colorful jumpsuits covered in cute patches (also available for purchase).
Once you receive your sticker, you can line up to enter the main experience space as they (sensibly!) control the flow of people to ensure the space doesn’t get overcrowded. Visitors are encouraged to sanitize their hands before playing with any of the slime exhibits, and you can then set off on your slime journey.
Different masses or lumps of slime are displayed in sink-like ceramic containers around Sloomoo Institute, each with the type of slime, color and scent noted on a caption on the wall next to it. You can reach in and play with the slime, and kids do this enthusiastically, with the adults around me being a lot more tentative. It’s definitely enjoyable from a sensory perspective though as my daughter’s default speed setting through any kind of museum is “sprint”, I couldn’t slow down and enjoy playing as much as I would have liked to!
Aside from the individual slime stations, there are several other fun components to Sloomoo Institute, including a glow-in-the-dark slime tent, an EEG machine where you can see your brain “on slime” and an area where (if you buy a premium ticket) you can have slime rain down on you while the Sloomoo song is played. Or as we decided to do, you can just watch other people getting slimed, which is much more enjoyable!
The highlight of the Sloomoo Institute for us was the 150 foot “DIY bar” where you can custom-create your very own slime to take home. You start by picking your texture of slime by touching un-colored samples, which is when you realize that the different slime exhibits were actually opportunities to discover what your favorite kind of slime is. My daughter and I chose the “glossy” slime type, which actually ended up being a little bit sticky, so I’d probably recommend trying a different type! After you’ve chosen your slime texture, you’re handed a plastic tub with your plain slime in it, and move along to choosing the scent for your slime.
Demeter Fragrance Library have provided all of the scents for the slime bar, so they’re genuinely delightful, and if you’re not under too much pressure from people behind you in line, it’s fun to smell widely before making your choice and some of the fragrance is dropped into your tub! Next up is choosing the color for your slime, which you can do from a color menu from around 40 different options. The powdered color is also popped into your tub. Next up was choosing “charms” for your slime, which was genuinely confusing and my daughter got a bit upset at the idea of getting these really lovely charms covered in slime so ended up not choosing any at all. I think the charms really only work if you have chosen clear slime initially, otherwise you’ll just end up with hard, lumpy pieces in your slime. I felt like that was the one part of the Sloomoo experience which didn’t quite make sense, or perhaps just wasn’t communicated very well.
Once you’ve made all your choices, you’re ushered into a room with different desk stations to mix up your slime, which is done by hand with an assist from another jumpsuit-clad team member. At this stage both my daughter and I did get some slime and color on our clothing, so I’d recommend not wearing your very best clothes to Sloomoo, and wearing sleeves that can easily roll up. Slime will come out of clothing with a bit of vinegar, or you can just do as I did and wait for it to try before picking it off.
After we had finished making our slime, we headed to an area where you can actually take your shoes off and walk on slime. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it at first but my daughter insisted, and it was surprisingly pleasant if you don’t think too much about other peoples’ feet!
The final stop before heading out is to walk through the gift shop where you can buy slime and slime accessories (little packs of glitter and balls for example that you can mix in with your slime). We had been in Sloomoo for almost exactly one hour, which I think would be about the average if you’re moving at a reasonably swift pace. My daughter gave it two thumbs up and said she had loved it. She has also played with her slime several times since we visited.
From my point of view it’s a fun outing for a special treat, and as an adult there is definitely enough to keep you engaged. Sloomoo have started doing adult-only “Sip and Slime” events as well as events incorporating CBD which I can imagine being very fun!
Sloomoo Institute is located at 475 Broadway, between Broome and Grand, and will be open every day from 10 am – 9 pm from October 25 to April 18.
Tickets are on sale at www.sloomooinstitute.com.
General admission tickets are $38 and come with an 8-ounce custom slime. For an additional $30, guests are able to don a custom poncho and participate in a photoshoot at Sloomoo Falls, where slime will rain down on you.
