We just got back from an overnight trip with my daughter’s scout troop. We had a great time at the Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia, PA.
Located in Lancaster County, PA, Turkey Hill produces ice cream, ice tea, and lemonade and ships its treats around the world. This isn’t a true factory tour. The actual production lines are located off site. This is more like a hands-on children’s museum.
A play structure explains how the ice cream is mixed. Video games encourage you to kill bad bacteria by shooting them with pasteurization rays. Everyone’s favorite areas are the tea bar and the ice cream case where you can sample lots of yummy flavors for free!
There are so many interesting exhibits. But, certainly the highlights are creating an original ice cream flavor (virtually), designing packaging for your new frozen treat, and finally staring in a commercial to advertise your product.
You also have the option to add the “Taste Lab” on to your ticket. The Taste Lab is an hands-on area where you’ll experiment with flavorings, variegates, and inclusions to design your own personal ice cream flavor and eat a generous portion of it. A “lab tech” will give you a short class in Ice Cream 101 and quiz you with some fun trivia questions. This would be a fabulous venue for a birthday party.
Our girl scout troop had a blast here. They loved everything about it. Lancaster County is such a fun place to visit. There are great restaurants and lots of entertainment options. See my post about Lancaster food here: https://underanelmtree.com/2017/01/25/whats-cookin-in-lancaster-county-pa/.
Where to Eat and Stay
On this trip, we ate at two great restaurants. Hinkle’s Restaurant is located at 261 Locust Street in Columbia, PA. It is within walking distance of the Turkey Hill Experience. Try the flash-fried Brussel sprouts- they are amazing. For dinner, we ate at Cork and Cap Restaurant in nearby Lancaster. Previously, a cork and glass factory- now an amazing restaurant and hotel, the architecture and décor here are so interesting. The food is also fantastic. I recommend the pan-seared duck breast. If you have children or picky eaters in your group, there’s a kid’s menu and also burgers. We stayed at Best Western Plus Intercourse Village and Suites. The rooms were spacious, breakfast was great, and there was an indoor pool and a spa on the premises.
