Maestrani (Minor and Munz producer) Chocolate Factory, chocolate tastings, an interactive museum and an indoor & outdoor scavenger hunt. St. Gallen, Switzerland.
The "it" factor
What makes it special:
Interactivity - learn about chocolate making through touching & playing
Chocolate tastings - and a lot of it!
What needs to be considered:
"Danger" of eating a lot of chocolate!
Don't feel like reading? Watch a Chocolarium video instead!
The education factor
A museum day with kids can be quite boring or it can be a real adventure. We found that whether kids (and often adults!) can be fully engaged and have fun depends on how interactive an exposition is. The more they can physically engage with the items on display, the more interesting it is for them. This is where Maestrani Chocolate Factory (Chocolarium) definitely delivers, with many kids-appropriate hands-on activities. You also get to walk above the real chocolate factory and see where the chocolate is produced (no photos allowed). You'll learn how chocolate is made using your senses, through touching, spinning, smelling, tasting, playing and... milking a "cow"! It goes a little bit less into scientific details than some of the other chocolate factories, making it very suitable for younger kids. Our 4 year-old stayed engaged all the way.
Kids from 4 years can also join a Maestrani Chocolate Factory (Chocolarium) chocolate making course with their parents and learn how to make a cute globi figure or their own chocolate bar and kids from 6 years old can learn how to create their preferred chocolate figure or a Christmas Santa! Reservation required.
The fun factor
1. Chocolate cinema
The adventure starts with a short movie about chocolate making and Maestrani Chocolate Factory (Chocolarium) - the factory of happiness, which, as we learn is one of the main ingredients of a good chocolate bar (I can definitely see that!). We adored the cute seats in the cinema which are shaped like milk chocolate pieces.
1. Scavenger hunt with Globi
Meet Globi, the host of your Chocolarium adventure. He is a famous Swiss cartoon character (more known in the German speaking part) and walks around the museum at specific times (along with a basket full of chocolate). If you are lucky, you get to personally meet him!
He also invites you on a quest to find pictures of him hidden around the museum. Pick up a scavenger-hunt card from the cinema and join the challenge. We found this scavenger hunt to be very well done as kids have to look through various holes and secret places scattered around the Maestrani Chocolate Factory (Chocolarium). Our favourite one was the telescope with which you had to find Globi hiding in the countryside.
2. Delicious chocolate tastings
If you are hoping to taste some chocolate, Maestrani Chocolate Factory (Chocolarium) will not disappoint! There were small baskets, buckets, bowls, dispensers and other containers packed with little free chocolates almost everywhere. And in the magical chocolate fountain room, you get to taste four different delicious liquid chocolates. If you are not sure which one is your favourite - you can test/taste them again (and again...) :)
3. Making your own chocolate
For an extra 10 CHF, you can get your own liquid chocolate bar that you can "flavour-up" and decorate with nuts, smarties, coconut flakes, seeds, gummy bears, fruits, cornflakes and more. You then put it in an industrial fridge and wait for it to take form. We made our own bar with each member of the family putting their favourite toppings. We are now looking forward to having it over Christmas!
4. Explore the outdoors
If the weather is nice, Chocolarium also offers a 2.3 km outdoor scavenger hunt. Download an app, follow an interactive map and solve tasks along the way. Some use augmented reality and other are more analog. If you succeed, you get a little gift at the Maestrani Chocolate Factory shop.
We were there on a rainy day so we had to skip it this time but it looks fun and hopefully we can do it next time!
The food factor
Apart from all the free chocolate scattered all over Maestrani Chocolate Factory (Chocolarium), there is also a Minor Café, where you can get drinks, sandwiches and other refreshments. As we had a visit to the nearby Cheese Factory planned on the same day, we did not stop at the Cafe. It looked very nice though!
The value factor
In 2023 the prices were as follows:
Adults: CHF 14.00
Children (6-16 years): CHF 8.00
Families (max. 5 persons): CHF 34.00
Children up to 6 years: Free
You can also buy combined tickets with the Appenzeller cheese museum which is 20 CHF for adults and 12 CHF for kids.
We feel like the quantity of chocolate you can eat alone makes it a good value.
Maestrani Chocolate Factory (Chocolarium) - practical info
Address: Toggenburgerstrasse 41, 9230 Flawil
Can be combined with the Appenzeller cheese museum or a Treetop Walkway