ATLANTA — The World of Coca-Cola Museum in downtown Atlanta has added a new interactive feature dubbed Beverage Lab where the worldwide beverage company provides a look at how drinks are created.
“It’s a peek behind the tent of research and development,” said Coca-Cola spokeswoman Jacquie Wansley. “It gives guests a better understanding of the science and creativity that go into formulating these drinks.”
The space used to feature a functioning bottling plant, but that was a relatively passive activity and the museum administrators wanted something more interactive.
“It did literally bottle Coca-Cola when we first opened but was in simulation mode when we closed it,” Wansley said. “It wasn’t feasible to keep it up to speed.”
Here are major elements of the new lab, which opened last month.
Intro: A video promoting dozens of Coke-owned drinks from around the world, including teas, juices, energy drinks, coffees and carbonated sodas.
Create your own: An interactive screen allows you to create your own drink that could be fruity, citrusy or spicy with options such as strawberry, blueberry, orange and pomegranate and the ability to adjust the percentages of each. (Later, in the dispensary room where attendees can sample dozens of Coke products, you can try out your drink at one of the Freestyle Coca-Cola machines.)
Carbonation: There’s an interactive game where you have to create as many carbonated bubbles as possible.
Science: Displays break down the concepts of texture, taste and appearance when designing a drink as well as the nutritional and wellness benefits of some ingredients from around the world. “The texture, for instance, has to do a lot with ice,” Wansley noted.
History lesson: The lab offers brief videos of the history of New Coke and Tab, two well-known discontinued drinks, and offers people a chance to drink them as well.
Testing, testing: You can also sample unreleased drink formulas and provide feedback.
Luis Pedron, who was in Atlanta from Miami to visit his daughter, enjoyed the Beverage Lab portion of the museum. He also happened to be in marketing research and said he was part of a company that tested New Coke vs. the original formula back in 1985 in Miami.
“It was very informative and teaches the young kids about Tab, the original diet drink, and how New Coke came out and flopped,” Pedron said.
The World of Coke museum opened at Underground Atlanta in 1990 and became an instant hit. In 2007, Coca-Cola moved the museum next to Centennial Olympic Park two years after the neighboring Georgia Aquarium debuted. Those two attractions were followed by the Center for Civil and Human Rights and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Over the World of Coke’s 33-year lifespan, more than 25 million people have passed through its doors. It’s set to reach 1.2 million visitors this year.
“We’ve had a really strong summer and fall,” Wansley said.
