San Francisco's popular Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) doesn't look like it's going to start melting anytime soon, after the visitor attraction announced its permanent residence in the city following a successful debut year.

Originally intended only as a temporary installation, more than 500,000 visitors have flocked to the Bay Area of San Francisco over the last year to explore the sweet treats on offer at MOIC.

Created by its founder, Maryellis Bunn, the museum offers an immersive, multi-sensory experience, where ice cream – a "universal symbol of joy, a personal pleasure, and a transportive vehicle for anyone’s imagination" – is the star of the show.

Becoming a permanent attraction, the museum will next year unveil a 2.0 version of the experience, with a series of new installations and flavours coming in 2019.

In addition, starting this quarter, MOIC will introduce "big kid" experiences – a series of over 18s events taking place in the museum at night.

MOIC is also launching a San Francisco version its pop-up, following a successful run in New York City. Called The Pint Shop, the addition is a free-to-visit immersive store, selling different flavours of the museum's ice cream, offering tasting sessions and selling MOIC-branded merchandise.