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Does your brain need a holiday after the mental sludge of two years of Covid-19? Bring it (with all other body parts) to the Museum of Illusions in Philadelphia, which just opened on March 12. Over 60 exhibits are designed to bend your mind and create the frisson of not being able to trust your own perceptions. It’s science museum meets Instagrammable moment meets potential gigglefest.
In the main part of the museum, the wide array of exhibits includes the Hollow Face Illusion, which is about our desire to see faces in any old hollow space we’re looking at; the Head on a Platter, which permits you to exact illusional revenge by ‘beheading’ your buddy; and the Clone Table, where five of you (just you) get to capture that amazing photo.
Make sure your phone’s fully charged before you go – much of the museum’s fun is in documenting the experience. Museum staff have been trained to offer expert tips to make sure the images you take are excellent for posting on social media.
There are five different immersive rooms in the complex. The Rotated Room makes you appear upside down Billie Eilish on SNL-style, while the Vortex Tunnel tricks you into thinking the ground beneath your feet is moving when it’s not: the handrail lets you lurch to ‘safety.’
Billing itself as a “fitness center for the brain,” the museum includes a smart playroom, where you can competitively engage in puzzles and dilemma games with friends and family, and a smart shop, to buy gifts for your gray matter.
The museum’s part of a chain of 35 across the world; the first was opened in 2015 in Zagreb, Croatia. Its Covid-19 measures currently include touchless bathrooms, many hand-sanitizing stations, vigorous cleaning, and timed ticketing. Buying online in advance is recommended.