We Visited a Mind-Bending Museum in the States – And Now It’s Open in Sydney

It was dusk in Santa Monica, California, when I arrived at the Museum of Illusions for its opening on Third Street Promenade, a block from the ocean. I wore a pressed shirt and the solemn expression reserved for pondering art in silence. Guests and glitzy performers spilled out from the entrance, including stilt walkers, a dancer donning a disco ball helmet, and showgirls in metal skirts that doubled as champagne flute holders. There was a DJ on the decks and waiters floated through the crowd, waving skewered grilled cheeses under our noses.

Immediately, the Museum of Illusions held a mirror up to my attempt at serious adulthood. Before I even saw the 80 optical illusion installations, I felt an air of uncomplicated joy mixing with the sea breeze around Santa Monica. And it was contagious.

The Museum of Illusions was launched by Roko Živković and Tomislav Pamuković in Zagreb, Croatia, a decade ago, fusing education and entertainment (“edutainment”) with interactive optical illusions that reimagined reality. Today, it’s the largest privately owned chain of museums in the world, with outposts in more than 60 cultural capitals like New York, Dubai and Paris. That global footprint now includes Sydney, where the Museum of Illusions has opened in the CBD, bringing its signature mind-bending installations Down Under.

Spread across more than 800 square metres, visitors of all ages can question reality and experience the inexplicable. Dotted throughout the museum are nods to local culture – from Sydney heritage buildings to Aussie pubs – alongside playful visual twists, including a Mona Lisa-inspired Bondi swimmer whose eyes follow you around the room.

I moved through the Santa Monica exhibit, joining other adults who left impressions of themselves in the human-sized kinetic sculpture, clutching each other as we swayed through a tunnel simulating the inside of a washing machine. We leapt and climbed on various platforms which, once photographed, had the effect of leaping into the next dimension or dangling by one finger from the side of a building.

There was an infinity room, which dizzyingly multiplied our reflections, slanted rooms which shrunk one of us and supersized the other, and glass cases containing objects suspended in midair, including Newton’s apple. Lining the walls were those classic black and white patterns, shifting and spinning if we stared at them long enough. There was also the Brain Room, packed with interactive puzzles designed to stimulate children’s (and adult’s) brains, which are used as part of some STEM programs.

I learnt that illusions are caused when the brain tries to predict what it’s seeing, in the time between an event actually happening and when we’re able to perceive it. Our brains are constantly taking stabs in the dark about the visual world around us. This would have been a confronting, perhaps life-changing realisation if I wasn’t so busy belly-laughing. It turns out making yourself confused, dizzy and a touch queasy in a room full of strangers creates a strong sense of community.

And then 80 installations later, it was over. A branded cookie was pressed into my palm, farewells were said, and I stepped reluctantly back into adulthood.

Did I expect a museum to leave me with sore abs and a camera roll of corny shots jumping between portals? Definitely not. But now that the Museum of Illusions is open in Sydney, there’s every chance you’ll find me there again, reconnecting with my inner child.

Strolling to the hotel, I looked up at the full moon, which shone so bright the stars had disappeared. I smiled to myself. It was just an illusion.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with the Museum of Illusions. Now open at 413 George Street, Sydney, the Museum of Illusions has been welcoming visitors since Boxing Day, quickly becoming a popular stop for locals and travellers alike. Tickets are available via museumofillusions.com.