I recently visited maybe the most different museum in New York of all times, the Museum of Illusions! The eye-tricking illusions were super fun and extremely curious!
When we think about museums, most people immediately think about the big, famous ones like the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), MoMA, the Whitney and so many others. If you’ve been with us for a while, some other off-the-beaten-track museums might also come to your mind!
But, a few weeks back, I found one maybe the most different museum in New York of all times: the Museum of Illusions.
Originally from Zagreb, Croatia, they are quite famous is other corners of the world, like in Austria and Slovenia. On September 20th, they finally landed in town and are creating quite a buzz, after all, optical illusions are quite fun to experience, don’t you agree?
That same week, I met with René Gjoni, the CEO of the museum, that was super kind to walk me through the all the installments and illusions. After that, I just HAD to go back and get it on camera for your guys to see!
“Visitors can learn a lot about vision, perception, the human brain and science through our attractive and fun exhibits. In that way, they also learn why our eyes see things that our brain does not understand.”
This fantastic interactive museum, located one of 14th Street’s busy corners, offers over 70 different activities visitors can experience. They are all based on science, math, biology and phycology, but in real life, they are extremely fun and curious! Many are quite simple after we find how they work but, I have to agree that creating them can be certainly challenging.
I passed through absolutely all the illusion and love them all, but the ones that I probably enjoyed the most were:
- Rotated Room – Are you ready to radically change your view of the world? How about for 90 degrees? In this room you can walk on the ceiling. Your imagination is the limit!
- Tricky Stick – This exhibit plays with your sense of space. The human brain will automatically suppose that the stick will not fit through the hole;
- Moving Picture – As you move, the image seems to swivel and follow you. Three-dimensional paintings when viewed from the front initially give the impression of viewing a painted flat surface that shows a perspective view;
- Swap Noses – You can switch different parts of your faces if both of you, at the same me, move up and down;
- True Mirror – We might think we see ourselves in traditional mirrors, but although they appear to show us how we look, in fact they reflect images that are sign significantly altered by being backwards. Step towards the True Mirror, which enables us to see ourselves as others see us!
- Tilted Room – Try to walk slowly in the ‘Tilted Room’. Can you do it well? It may feel wobbly and difficult to walk in here.
In addition, there are a few exclusive illusions that are only seen in New York City:
- Thermal Grill – The thermal grill illusion is a sensory illusion. When someone presses a hand against the grill, he or she experiences the illusion of burning heat;
- Following Eyes – The following eyes are an optical illusion in which the perception of hollow concave eyes look like normal convex eyes. If you stare at them and walk left and right – they seem to follow you around;
- Zoetrope – A zoetrope is a device that produces the illusion of motion from a rapid succession of static pictures. This variation uses a rapidly flashing strobe light to illuminate the models, producing an illusion of motion.
So, I can say it’s a place to visit with kids, friends of all ages, family! It’s really entertaining, fun and that will give you countless reasons to laugh! And, you’ll be able to take some of the coolest pictures, and share them on all your Social Channels for your friends to see! I guarantee, it’s will go viral!
Have fun in the Museum of Illusions and share your experience with us: #BehindTheScenesNYC and #MuseumOfIllusionsNewYork!
Oh! And don’t forget to subscribe to our channel, like the video and help spread the love for our gorgeous New York City!
Tickets:
$19 Adults
$17 Students with valid ID (age 14-22), Senior citizens (age 62+) with valid ID, Military Personnel
$15 Children (6-13 age)
$53 Family Ticket Package (two adults & two children)
Children under age of 6 are free
*Group Rates Available*
Hours: Monday – Sunday: 9am – 10pm
Location: 77 8th Avenue – located on the corner of 8th Avenue and 14th Street
Videography: Black3 Agency
Photography: Black3 Agency & Courtesy of Kenroy Lumsden
Beauty: Leila Soldeira
Styling: Camilla Adão
*Last Update March/2020.*
Fê is our Founder & CEO! She’s Brazilian (Yup! Not a New Yorker!), but her indescribable passion and curiosity for NY makes her a New Yorker by heart. Fê worked in companies like Kimberly Clark, Quintessentially, Vogue Brazil and Iguatemi Group, and after 12 years of working for these fantastic companies, she decided to go solo and move to NYC!
She lives in Brooklyn since April of ’15 and has been tirelessly working on BTSNYC, working with huge companies on corporate projects, practicing her Arhatic Yoga meditations, finding time for gym and friends! Phiuf!
