A thoughtful, interactive new edible exhibition from the Museum of Food and Drink. Join us as a "Wonton" supporter or higher, and see it on November 4 and 5 – before it opens to the public.

Chow will celebrate the birth and evolution of Chinese American cuisine, tracing its incredible 170-year history and sparking conversation around immigration, cultural identity, and what it means to be American. And, in signature Museum of Food and Drink style, visitors will be able to explore, taste, touch, and smell.

With your help, this will be an exciting, multisensory experience. Here's a sneak peek:

Wall of 50,000: A 15-foot wall of suspended Chinese takeout boxes will showcase the cuisine's widespread popularity. Each side of every box represents one of the approximately 50,000 Chinese American restaurants in the US.

A 15-foot wall of suspended Chinese takeout boxes will showcase the cuisine's widespread popularity. Each side of every box represents one of the approximately 50,000 Chinese American restaurants in the US. Menu Time Travel: View hundreds of original menus dating back to the early 1900s. Trace the evolution of the cuisine over time, and view the beautiful, colorful artistry in these elaborate designs.

View hundreds of original menus dating back to the early 1900s. Trace the evolution of the cuisine over time, and view the beautiful, colorful artistry in these elaborate designs. Fortune Cookie Machine: Take in the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked fortune cookies as you watch our mesmerizing Rube Goldberg-like fortune cookie machine in action. Enjoy as many freshly baked cookies as you’d like off the conveyor belt, still warm from the oven!

Take in the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked fortune cookies as you watch our mesmerizing Rube Goldberg-like fortune cookie machine in action. Enjoy as many freshly baked cookies as you’d like off the conveyor belt, still warm from the oven! Wok Tastings: Taste for yourself the differences between Chinese American staples of yesteryear, and the present-day versions of those same dishes. You'll experience how the cuisine changed in just a few transporting bites.

We're almost at the finish line to bring this exhibition to life, thanks in large part to our stellar partner, Infiniti. We just need your help funding final production costs. We ask you – kindly, humbly, enthusiastically – to please help us raise $80,000 so we can launch Chow next month at our Brooklyn gallery. By contributing, you'll enable thousands of people, young and old, to learn about this important cultural story.

We'd love to say thanks in our own way, and backer gifts range from a Chow recipe booklet and annual museum membership to pre-opening access and a VIP Exhibition Premiere, depending on your level. At the "Egg Roll" level and up, you can see Chow before anyone else does during a private opening on November 4 and November 5.

Thank you for visiting our Kickstarter and supporting Chow!

Meet some of our incredible staff and advisors:

Chow Advisory Committee

Yong Chen: Professor, School of Humanities, University of California, Irvine; author of Chop Suey, USA: The Story of Chinese Food in America

Professor, School of Humanities, University of California, Irvine; author of Chop Suey, USA: The Story of Chinese Food in America Andrew Coe: Culinary historian and author of Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States

Culinary historian and author of Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States John Eng-Wong: Special Advisor, American Studies, Brown University

Special Advisor, American Studies, Brown University Madeline Hsu: Professor, Department of History; Core Faculty, Center for Asian American Studies, University of Texas at Austin

Professor, Department of History; Core Faculty, Center for Asian American Studies, University of Texas at Austin Heather Lee: Assistant Professor of Global China Studies, NYU Shanghai

Assistant Professor of Global China Studies, NYU Shanghai Mike Lee: Food Futurist, The Future Market; born and raised in Chinese-American restaurants

Food Futurist, The Future Market; born and raised in Chinese-American restaurants Anne Mendelson: Culinary historian and author of Chow Chop Suey: Food and the Chinese American Journey

Culinary historian and author of Chow Chop Suey: Food and the Chinese American Journey Robert Sietsema: Senior Critic, Eater.com

Senior Critic, Eater.com Emma Teng: T.T. and Wei Fong Chao Professor of Asian Civilizations, MIT

T.T. and Wei Fong Chao Professor of Asian Civilizations, MIT Cedric Yeh: Associate Curator, Smithsonian National Museum of American History

MOFAD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is creating the world's first large-scale museum with exhibits you can eat. Our goal is to advance public understanding of the culture, history, science, production, and commerce of food and drink.

We got our start in 2013 with the mobile exhibition, BOOM! The Puffing Gun and the Rise of Cereal, which featured live demos of a giant 1930s-era cereal puffing gun. Last year, we opened MOFAD Lab, a gallery space in Brooklyn, NY. In this space, we debuted the smell machines and tasting exhibits of Flavor: Making It and Faking It.

We are passionate about food education. We've hosted kids' cooking classes, debates on tough issues such as GMOs, school groups, community discussions about food and gentrification, food science workshops, history seminars, and much more. All told, we've reached over 30,000 kids and adults with our programs and exhibits.

By backing this campaign, you help create an important educational resource, and you support MOFAD's continued growth toward opening a full-scale museum.

We are a team of educators, designers, builders, scientists, historians, chefs, and scholars united by a passionate belief that food deserves a world-class museum.

Team

Emma Boast: Program Director

Program Director Kate Dobday: Partnerships Manager

Partnerships Manager Ryan Dunn and Wyeth Hansen: Creative Direction and Design

Creative Direction and Design Debbie Holloway: Operations Manager

Operations Manager Ebony Hurwitz: Events Manager

Events Manager Peter Kim: Executive Director

Executive Director Megan McGowan: Project Manager

Project Manager Catherine Piccoli: Program Manager

Chow Advisory Committee

Yong Chen: Professor, School of Humanities, University of California, Irvine; author of Chop Suey, USA: The Story of Chinese Food in America

Professor, School of Humanities, University of California, Irvine; author of Andrew Coe: Culinary historian and author of Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States

Culinary historian and author of John Eng-Wong: Special Advisor, American Studies, Brown University

Special Advisor, American Studies, Brown University Madeline Hsu: Associate Professor, Center for Asian American Studies, University of Texas at Austin

Associate Professor, Center for Asian American Studies, University of Texas at Austin Heather Lee: Assistant Professor of Global China Studies, NYU Shanghai

Assistant Professor of Global China Studies, NYU Shanghai Anne Mendelson: Culinary historian and author of Chow Chop Suey: Food and the Chinese American Journey

Culinary historian and author of Robert Sietsema: Senior Critic, Eater.com

Senior Critic, Eater.com Emma Teng: T.T. and Wei Fong Chao Professor of Asian Civilizations, MIT

T.T. and Wei Fong Chao Professor of Asian Civilizations, MIT Cedric Yeh: Associate Curator, Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Board

Dave Arnold: Founder and President

Founder and President Jenny Best: Chair, Board Development

Chair, Board Development Vikram Bhaskaran: Trustee

Trustee Michelle Curb: Chair, Development

Chair, Development Glenda Hersh: Trustee

Trustee Jonathan Hopkins: Trustee

Trustee Bill Imada: Trustee

Trustee Ben Leventhal: Chair, Finance

Chair, Finance Patrick Martins: Trustee

MOFAD would also like to thank all of our extraordinary volunteers for their support, including Jenny Acosta, Mary Casella, Ennis Chung, Alma Igra, Sara Kay, Mookie Kideckel, Paolina Lu, Juliana Malzoni, Jeff McGuigan, Carina Moreno, Janice Moynihan, Priyanka Ramakrishna, Lizzy Saxe, Rich Shih, and Narender Strong, as well as the dozens of volunteer docents who help us run our exhibits and programs.

The New York Times: Museum of Food and Drink Takes a Look at Flavor

The Atlantic, Citylab: Museum of Food and Drink combines geeky food-science info with lofty social justice goals

The New Yorker: Puffed: The Magic of Cereal

The Wall Street Journal: Have Puffer Gun, Will Travel

Mashable: Inside NYC's first museum dedicated to food