The Museum of Illusions opens its Arizona location Saturday, March 11. The Museum of Illusions Scottsdale will be permanently situated alongside OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland in the Arizona Boardwalk. It features 60 exhibits including holograms, stereograms and optical illusions. Visitors will learn about vision, perception and the human brain, as well as experience firsthand the science of how the eyes can trick the mind. Guests will walk on walls in the Rotated Room, defy gravity in the Tilted Room, and appear to grow and shrink in the Ames Room. The Scottsdale location will be the latest installment of the Museum of Illusions’ global presence.
We were joined by Stacy Stec of the museum to discuss the ins and outs of the location.
“Everybody knows that illusions are really fun to look at, but they also teach us a little bit about vision and perception and how we perceive reality,” Stec said.
The museum includes exhibits such as installations and immersive rooms where guests can walk inside the room and actually become part of the illusion themselves. In particular, the Ames room, Stec relays, is a fan favorite at the museum.
“It’s essentially an experiment in force perspective. So it was created by an American ophthalmologist and psychologist, Adelbert Ames,” said Stec. “When you walk into the room, guests appear to grow and shrink as they walk from one corner of the room to the next. But it is all in illusion.”
The Museum of Illusions opened its first location in Croatia. The museum now has more than 35 locations worldwide.
“Scottsdale is booming right now. It is one of the best places in America to live. So we’re so thrilled to bring this concept here to an already thriving art scene, museum scene, you know, food scene, outdoor activity scene. So we just felt that this was a great fit,” Stec said.
The museum is open to people of all ages and is also available as a venue. The museum hosts both corporate events and private events.