Inside Gaslamp's Museum of Illusions
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Claire hanging out at the Museum of Illusions. Photos: Claire Trageser/Axios
San Diego's new Museum of Illusions is meant to mess with your mind and create trippy photo ops.
The big picture: The museum opened in Gaslamp last summer as an interactive space filled with optical illusions you can climb inside and explore.
Zoom in: Many of the illusions make great photos. The museum even marks where to stand for the best shot and has staff available to help with poses.
- A painting that looks like the side of the Colorado House in Old Town that you can lie down on while a staff member takes your photo through a mirror above, creates the illusion that you're hanging off the building.
- There's also a giant kaleidoscope you can walk inside or a "vortex tunnel" surrounded by spinning lights.
💠Claire's thought bubble: I rarely get motion sick, but the vortex tunnel immediately made me feel like I was going to throw up. My son walked through it with no problem, of course.
Flashback: The museum started in Croatia in 2015 and is now in more than 40 locations, including 22 in the U.S..
- San Diego was the first California location.
It's not a traveling museum. It will be here permanently, shift supervisor Alyssa Hernandez told Axios.
What they're saying: "Pictures are definitely a big part of the museum, because we want you guys to go back and look at this day and remember how good of a time you guys had and just experience it again through the pictures," she said.
- Also, post on social media so your friends want to go.
If you go: The museum is at 665 Fifth Ave. and doesn't have designated parking.
- Walk-in tickets with flexible entry times are $37
- Scheduled time tickets are $29
- Children 5-12 are $24, and military and seniors are $26
- Educators receive free walk-in admission
