Incredible immersive experiences to do in NYC right now

Digital art and poetry have combined for a dive into Afrocentricity and Afrofuturism at this new immersive exhibit in Chelsea. "Aṣẹ: Afro Frequencies" is now open at ARTECHOUSE and runs all summer.

The digital art exhibition promises a "vibrant reflection upon the past, present, and future of the Black experience." It's told through the perspective of London-based Afro-surrealist digital artist Vince Fraser alongside evocative poetry by ursula rucker.

Both artists worked to honor the legacy, struggles, and complexities of the Black experience in their work. Even the exhibition's title, "Aṣẹ" stems from a powerful mantra, affirmation, and philosophical belief held by the Yoruba people of West Africa, meaning "so will it be." (By the way, that's pronounced as AH-shay.)

Live like Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe at The FRIENDS Experience: The One in New York City. It's basically an immersive museum celebrating the '90s sitcom. You'll get to walk through rooms that look exactly like the ones on the TV show.

Photo opportunities abound. There’s a chance to pose with the “Pivot” couch, a backdrop that looks like the Vegas chapel, and a photo opp with Phoebe’s grandma’s taxi. You can even pose on top of Pat the Dog, snap a photo with the giant poking device and take a selfie in Monica’s apartment. Using high-quality cameras, staff take photos at each spot, which you can purchase at the end. But staff will also take free photos with your cell phone if you ask. 

It's not just a selfie museum, though. There's a fascinating display featuring the show's costume designer Debra McGuire where you'll learn about her sartorial choices for each character. Another exhibit spotlights artist Burton Morris, whose Pop art pieces decorate Central Perk. Other display cases feature set designs, signed scripts, props and costumes.  

Many museums start with some kind of orientation, like a map or remarks from a docent. But not The House of Cannabis (a.k.a. THC NYC), the new weed museum in Soho. Instead, this museum starts, quite fittingly, with a trippy “Disorientation Room.”

While this museum boasts plenty of mind-bending multi-sensory bells and whistles, it also showcases art, highlights science and confronts the social justice issues baked into cannabis prosecution. The museum, the first of its kind at this scale, packs every inch of its four-story, 25,000-square-foot space at 427 Broadway with fascinating facts and delightful immersive experiences fit to entertain both tokers and non-smokers alike. Tickets ($45/adult) are on sale now.

The energy in INTER_ feels more like a meditation retreat than a typical gallery—and that’s by design. 

The experiential, multi-sensory museum in Soho invites visitors into a heightened state of contemplative awareness through a sound bath, light installations and aspects of meditation all combined with interactive digital art. 

Here's a sneak peek inside the museum — and if you want to check it out yourself, Time Out readers get a discount on tickets with code TIMEOUT15.

The McKittrick Hotel is home to the world-famous production of Sleep No More, a “site-specific, immersive experience” that blurs the line between audience and actor, stage and seating. It began previews in March 2011 and has been continuously extended over the past decade. 

But as the lights fade out on its 5,000th performance Sleep No More will conclude its nearly 13-year run on April 28, 2024. The pioneering performance has hosted over two million guests and has a sister run still ongoing in Shanghai, China. 

Go see the show before it closes; here's our guide to making the most of the experience.

Get ready for heart-pounding experience in the sky unlike any other experience atop a skyscraper. Summit One Vanderbilt sits atop the new 67-floor One Vanderbilt super-tall—a 1,401-foot-high—skyscraper.

As the city's fourth-tallest building after One World Trade Center, Central Park Tower and 111 West 57th Street, it sits just west of Grand Central Terminal, where you first enter the experience underground. After a trip through a mirrored hallway with its own immersive elements, visitors take an elevator up to the 91st floor, where they're 1,000 feet over the streets and sidewalks of NYC.

Kenzo Digital has created a totally mirrored infinity room called "Air" that reflects the sky and city views over and over, making you feel like you're walking in the sky or on another plane of existence. Looking above you and below you in this two-story space, you see your reflection repeating forever.

One of the coolest parts of the experience is that it changes with the weather and time of day. When the weather is nice, it'll look like you're walking among the clouds. When it's stormy, you'll see the rain fly sideways and around the building. 

Part visual splendor, part olfactory wonder and part ooey-gooey sensory fun, Sloomoo Institute’s slime museum offers a captivating playground for all ages.

While Sloomoo is a highly Instagrammable experience, the founders hope you’ll spend some time away from your phone and immersed in the moment during your 90-minute visit to truly have the slime of your life. You can squish vats of slime, make your own slime to take home and even stand under a slime waterfall—that's truly immersive.

Turns out, we're still trying to make fetch happen.

Coinciding with the release of the new Mean Girls movie, a new immersive experience based on the iconic film is scheduled to debut for a limited time in NYC this spring. The exact opening date is still TBD, so stay tuned.

The experience will involve a fast-casual restaurant serving cafeteria-style fare created by Master Chef semi-finalist Chef Becky Brown. Menu items include a “Stab Caesar” salad, the hilariously-named “burn book” burger sliders and a 1 3 5 Acai Bowl. 

Passes aren't available yet, but we suggest you add yourself to the waitlist right here ASAP.