ImmerseLDN

House of Dreamers is a similar idea to a series of all-ages immersive experiences that flourished around 2024: think the Balloon Museum, think Dopamine Land, think Bubble Planet (which is still going). As a veteran of these sorts of things (my kids go nuts for them), there are very definitely some familiar elements to House of Dreamers: the gigantic ballpit is a classic, as is the pretend train journey where you sit in a carriage and video screens give the illusion of movement. Originating in Italy (it’s the creation of designer sisters Elena and Giulia Sella), what sets HoD apart from the pack is the relentless barrage of aspirational slogans and cookie-cutter ‘you got this!’ positivity. Somewhat ambiguously described as being ‘the first immersive exhibition dedicated to dreamers’, the show occupies a vague middle ground between actually being dreamlike and celebrating hopes and dreams via the medium of messages like ‘enjoy today’ or ‘never give up’. I think maybe when I was younger and didn’t have kids, and my cynicism outweighed my pragmatism, the whole thing would have made me want to scream, especially when my journey ended with an uplifting quote from JK Rowling, personalised just for me (we are given individual wristbands with our names electronically imprinted on them – my kids both lost theirs in the ballpit). But now, I just say live, laugh, love.  The show is relentlessly photo friendly House of Dreamers is perfectly good fun so long as you are aware of what...

With admirable chutzpah London’s latest immersive exhibition offers not just a focus on a single event, but a journey through the entire history of human civilisation. Well, ‘entire’ is a bit much: rather than focus on heavily documented eras of humanity, Timewalk – a creation of the DEM Museums in Türkiye – is dedication to using immersive tech to plunge you into a succession of semi-mythical ancient civilisations. Starting at Göbeklitepe in Türkiye – widely recognised as the world’s earliest communal gathering site – its various rooms will take you onward to Babylon, Ancient Egypt, the Maya, and Rapa Nui and more, with the idea being to present these vanished societies not as dusty relics but as living, breaking recreations of how they might have been. We’re not quite sure how they’ll do that – it looks like massive projections might be the order of the day – but ‘cinematic storytelling, multi-sensory environments, and cutting-edge technology’ are promised.