I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: August 24, 2023] Paradox Museum

I had gotten an ad on Instagram for something called Otherworld.  I bought tickets ahead of time and we had a blast when it opened.

Naturally I’d get an ad for the Paradox Museum as well.  There were photos of the weirdness inside and I thought it would be fun to check out as well.

Like Otherworld, the Paradox Museum is a series of rooms  that you walk through and you have your mind blown.  Unlike Otherworld, everything in Paradox is familiar.  There’s no weird rooms or art or crazy things to explore, exactly.

Each room deals with a visual paradox.  And the rooms are designed for you to physically see (and more often take pictures of) things that kind of blow your mind.

So it was the left brain side of Otherworld’s right brain.

Most of the illusions are done with mirrors, but that doesn’t make them any less cool.  There are lights that looks like the go on forever.  There are mirrors that alter how you look (including one that presents you as you appear to others–as opposed to how you see yourself in the mirror).

But there were also real life versions of illusions that you’ve seen on TV. Like foreshortening, where a person near you looks like they are very small because of the objects placed around them.  Or a room where the floors are tilted, but the stripes on the wall just makes it look like people are very different sized than they are.  Or even a room that is specifically designed to have the photo flipped over to make it look like you are floating.

There were mirrors to make it look like you had both legs off the ground at the same time and even a couch that made it look like your body was cut in half.

We had a really good time.  The museum had just opened so it was a little surprising/disappointing to see a few things out of order or not yet finished.  But it was still a great way to spend an hour.

The one compliant I had was that everyone in our group of about 20 people was let in at the same time so it made it hard to really enjoy everything with other people waiting to try.  But aside from that, it was a nice companion to Otherworld.  And we got some cool photos too.

We then spent the rest of the day in the American Dream Mall, which none of us had been to.  It’s quite an experience with surprisingly good food and some really interesting stores.  Totally worth the $5 parking cost.