Instagram Aesthetics, Fun settings, Lots of likes. If this describes you and how you control your Instagram account, then hop in the car and go check out the F.O.M.O Factory! The F.O.M.O Factory is a pop-up exhibition in downtown Austin. It resembles the Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco. These museums aren’t really like a walk at your own pace, awe at the artifacts, and learn a bunch, type of museum. These factories are where you go to create fun, creative, colorful, aesthetically pleasing photos for yourself or social media. The F.O.M.O Factory is a super exciting and fun place, so go check it out before it leaves Austin on October 21.

I went with Zoe Bellamio (8) to the Factory and here is where it all started. As we walked through the entrance, a Hello door greeted us and set the tone for what lay inside. We found ourselves walking up rainbow steps, which led to the first room: The Birthday Celebrations room!

This room was filled with confetti, sprinkles, balloons, and fun photo props such as cupcakes, bows, a big cake, and vibrant colors. It was a very cute and carefree opening room. You could hear the music they were playing in the background which was fun, ‘80s pop. To one side of you, there was a huge birthday cake with a hole in the center that you could jump out of, and on the background wall there was cupcakes on plates ready to eat! To the other side, there was a wall of confetti, and balloons of all sizes skimming the floor.

We then went to second room, the Games and Childhood room! It had three different settings within this one room. It has a scrabble wall where you could place alphabet magnets to spell any word you please. Another wall had a blue base with black cursive writing on it, which said things like “You are beautiful.”  The last wall was a childhood, vintage toy wall. It had baby dolls, Barbies, rubber ducks, and more. All of the props were painted completely and were velcroed to the wall. It was all colored as an ombre of warm tones. This room flowed into the next, the School room!

This room was one of my favorites. The props were amazing and there were so many different themes all within one main category. This room had a wall with different colored lockers, a wall with origami and paper airplanes, a future plan wall, a pink hearts wall, a desk with all kinds of books on top of it, and two walls covered in Yoobi school supplies. You could pose as a cheerleader or a book worm. You could pose as a teacher or a student.

After this room, we headed into the next setting spot. This room was the Bubble room. It was designed to be like a bathroom, like you added a little too much bubble fun into your bath. It was a very small room with clear/white balloons of all different sizes, with more on the larger side. The walls were white and the room could only fit one person once you dug in and really got into the “bubbles.” It was a little and simple room, but, the pictures were great and magical. The overflowing bath vibe was super creative and I would have never thought of that.

The last room on this level was the Prom Room. This room was covered in silver tinsel and there was a big crescent moon that you could pose in. They had prom king and queen sashes, crowns, and roses. This was fun to pose in with Zoe. We really showed our comedic side and had a blast being prom king and queen.

Then we were directed outside to a Retro Music Space. This area was adorable. One wall had rows of retro colored cassette tapes with a couple of vintage chairs. One wall had a board game appeal with different 1980s themed sayings and words. The wall next to that had a big stereo painted on it with squares with the play and pause button. Another wall had a beige heart painted onto a white background that said in cursive writing “Don’t go breaking my heart.” The last posing space in this area was a little nook with green faux grass and flowers. It had a very summer-like vibe.

After we were done in this space we walked down to see the outdoor Playground room! This area was super interesting and entertaining. They had a see-saw, an electric scooter, and swings that had rose vines intertwining. It was a very playful environment. The Factory also has a little surprise in this second to last room. They offered you ice cream! Since the previous two spaces were outdoors in the heat, this cooled us down. Then we walked down a few white stairs and made a left to appear in this little nook. It was almost hidden. On the white door, it said in yellow writing, “Do you like Pina Coladas?” You walk in and you are completely astonished.

First, our sweaty and boiling bodies felt the air conditioning of the last room. We smelled the fruity scent of Pina Coladas. We saw what was just beyond our expectations. There was a huge sand castle that you can climb through and climb up to the top of. There was a beach lounge chair space, a blue ball pit with pool floaties, and lastly my favorite part, the Snapple bar. There was a little bar with three chairs that said on the back, 1. Vacay, 2. All, 3. Day. Zoe and I walked up to the counter and the lady behind it asked us “Hi, welcome to your Summer Vacation. What would you like?” She gestured to the seven different flavors of Snapple and we both replied with “Kiwi Strawberry please, thank you.” She handed us our refreshing drinks. The cool bottle felt good on my hot skin. I had never actually had Snapple before so it was a very fun way to try it.

Zoe and I posed, drank our Snapple and laughed. Eventually, it was time to leave and, as we sighed in sadness, we smiled out the door of the F.O.M.O Factory knowing that this experience was once in a lifetime. Knowing that these photos would always bring us joy and good memories. Knowing that I would be able to inform you and you could join us in that wonderful adventure as well.