It Was All An Illusion: A Tour Through Atlanta’s Newest Museum of Illusions

The Museum of Illusions opened the doors of its Atlanta location to the public on May 19, and I was able to visit and get a tour of the many magical illusions that the building holds. While there are other Museums of Illusion across the country under the same branch, this Atlanta location is particularly special since it is the largest out of all the others. With an area of more than 10,000 square feet packed with more than 80 illusions that use everything from static art to mirrors, LED screens and lights, you are bound to have a good time. The museum also has an educational feel to it as each illusion has a plaque next to it explaining what it does and exactly how it works to trick your brain so you won’t feel completely stupefied by the end of your trip.

 Located inside Atlantic Station, the museum is a great place to visit with family, friends or your significant other for date night. Photos are encouraged and there are plenty of opportunities to take them throughout the museum. Friendly museum staff that are throughout the museum can give you pointers on how to take the best pictures possible for your Instagram feed. In some of the illusion rooms, there are even automated cameras that you can use to take your photos and have them printed out for you at the end of your visit.

What I think really makes the museum stand out is the level of interactivity it has. While it is a museum by name, really feels like a fun interactive experience. One of the first rooms you’ll see on your visit is the Kaleidoscope room. Once you step inside you’ll be surrounded by multiple screens displaying trippy and psychedelic effects that are sure to make for great photos. Next to it is a room that plays with perspective making one subject look huge while the other looks minuscule in comparison. Further into the exhibit is a fan favorite; the Reverse room. Visitors can hang from furniture placed on the ceiling and flip those photos for the desired effect. There’s another area that gives the illusion that you’re sitting on the ledge on the side of a large building. Past that is the headless platter illusion. This one is great for pictures with groups or couples as one person can pretend to be “dining” on the head of the other.

Past that is a hallway with multiple holograms that are bursting out of their frames that hang on the walls. One of them, a hologram of a telescope, even allows you to look inside its lens at the subject it’s focused on.  In that same hallway are the zoetropes that look as though they are twisting and spinning at various rates of speed but they are actually completely still. With just the use of light, the objects are given the illusion of motion. Past the zoetropes and the holograms though is probably the most mind-bending and trippy attraction, the Vortex. Inside is a small bridge that you must cross while images spin all around you, tricking your brain into thinking you are spinning. There are cautions and handrails for those that can get extremely motion sick but I’d say it’s not long enough to cause any real distress.

Sprinkled throughout the museum are other great illusions, like a tilted room that finally gives us mortals the ability to lean like Michael Jackson, mirrors that allow you to body swap with friends, and a table with several mirrors that allow you to play cards with your clones. A gift shop at the front of the museum gives you the chance to buy many fun illusion-related items such as games or invisible ink pens. I had plenty of fun during my tour of the museum and I’m sure any visitors will too.

The Museum of Illusions is located in Atlantic Station at 264 19 St NW Atlanta, Georgia. It’s open Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

All photos courtesy of David Okafor on Instagram @davmotions.