Museum of Food and Drink facts for kids
The Museum of Food and Drink, often called MOFAD, is a special museum in New York City. It's a non-profit organization, which means it uses all its money to help people learn, not to make a profit. MOFAD wants to change how we think about what we eat and drink. It teaches us how food and drinks affect our culture, history, and even how the world works.
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History of MOFAD
How MOFAD Started
Dave Arnold first thought of the museum in 2005. For a few years, it was just an idea. Then, in 2011, things started to happen. In 2013, Dave Arnold and Peter Kim, who was the museum's director, used a website called Kickstarter to raise money. They collected over $100,000 to create the museum's very first exhibit.
First Exhibits and MOFAD Lab
The first exhibit opened in New York in August 2013. It featured a huge, 3,200-pound "puffing machine," also called a puff gun. This machine was part of a traveling show all about cereal.
In 2015, a company called Infiniti became a big supporter of MOFAD. Their help allowed the museum to open a special place for exhibits. This new space was called MOFAD Lab. It was a large gallery, about 5,000 square feet, located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
New Exhibitions and Locations
Before the COVID-19 pandemic caused museums to close, MOFAD announced a new exhibit. It was called "African/American: Making the Nation's Table." This exhibit was planned for the Africa Center in Harlem, New York City. During the time museums were closed, MOFAD still offered online programs. The "African/American" exhibit finally opened in February 2022. It even included a special kitchen called the Ebony Test Kitchen.
In February 2024, MOFAD opened its doors again to the public. It moved to a new spot in the Empire Stores building in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn. MOFAD's first exhibit at this new location is called "Flavor: The World to your Brain." This exhibit is interactive, meaning you can touch and experience things. It explores how we taste flavors, how the flavor industry works, and what "natural" and "artificial" flavors really mean.
Gallery
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Chow, an exhibit at MOFAD Lab in 2018
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Tasting bar
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Guests at the exhibit
