Museum of Illusions, Miami Beach (In Pictures)

With my mother visiting us from NYC, I was looking for somewhere interesting to take her and my daughter this past week. A friend of mine suggested the new Museum of Illusions in Miami being that it just opened this past December. What is the Museum of Illusions, you ask? Well, the new Museum of Illusions is every Instagrammer’s dream (of course). Visitors enter a world of visual illusions as they walk into more than 40 different exhibits spanning two floors. You can snap your own pictures or enlist the help of the museum’s professional photographers on-site, who guide and assist guests to capture the perfect shot. Flash photography is even allowed.

An international concept with exhibits around the world, the Museum of Illusions Miami marks the third U.S. location for the company, with two existing locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. “We are thrilled to launch our first location in Miami,” stated Lionel Rivera, Marketing Manager at Museum of Illusions Miami [link]. “Our mission is to surprise guests through our mind-bending, interactive illusions. It is a memorable and fun experience for all ages, where you can discover something new and let your imagination run wild.”

“Amusing and awesome tricks will teach you about vision, perception, the human brain and science so it will be easier to perceive why your eyes see things which your brain cannot understand,” reads the MOI’s website. Most of the illusions have a camera symbol on the floor with an arrow. This is the recommended spot to take the photo if you want the best optical illusion effect. Smartphone/camera tripods are also available to rent for $10 (we rented one).

The Museum of Illusions Miami is located at 536 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, Florida, and is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to midnight. Admission is $25 for adults and $16 for children ages 4 to 12. Children under 3 are free. You can purchase tickets online and reserve an available time for your visit. For more information, visit www.miaillusions.com.

We visited the museum on a Wednesday afternoon and it wasn’t very busy (most of the negative reviews I’ve read about the museum have to do with it being too crowded) and I would assume that were it to be packed with people (on a Friday/Saturday night, for example), it might make for a less pleasant experience as you have to walk through each “illusion” kind of the same way you walk through a mini golf course – wait until the group before you finishes before moving on.

But for our visit, it was smooth sailing as there were only a few other groups milling about. And we had a great time (even my mother enjoyed herself and she’s pretty hard to please!). Here are a few pics from our time there. Definitely a place to check out should you find yourself on Miami Beach’s famed Lincoln Road…

The Museum of Illusions isn’t the only new museum in town. Click the image below to check out the photographs from my visit to the new Museum of Graffiti in Wynwood…