The Art of the Acronym: MOCHA

Sometimes an acronym is so interesting as a name you can be excused for bending the rules a little. MOCHA, the name of the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland, California, falls into this category for me. Technically, it should be MOCA—but because that acronym often stands for “Museum of Contemporary Art,” they decided to go with MOCHA instead. So ok, it’s a bit of a cheat, but it’s not totally outré. Since the first two letters of “children’s” are “c” and “h,” the name still sort of works as an acronym. Plus the playful tone and yummy food associations deftly capture the youthful flavor of the whole enterprise. And for an institution that stresses the diversity of its outreach efforts, MOCHA is an apt metaphor.