San Diego's Mindbender Mansion puts families to the test
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Prepare to have your mind bended. Photo: Claire Trageser/Axios
If you like puzzles, you should check out a new exhibition at the Fleet Science Center.
The big picture: The Mindbender Mansion is like an escape room for kids, with enough activities to keep them engaged for an entire afternoon.
Zoom in: When you enter the "mansion," which was part of Fleet's expansion this summer, you get a sheet of paper to record your clues.
- You then work your way through a series of puzzles, including classics like the 16 matchstick puzzle.
- And an extremely difficult challenge of stacking food items on lunch trays as they roll along a conveyor belt.
When you finish the puzzles, you get more clues to input into a screen to get passwords. It's all very complicated.
The bottom line: It'll keep kids occupied.
💭 Claire's thought bubble: My son and I spent an hour in there and got about halfway done.
- I am pretty competitive and was just as (if not more so) invested as he was in solving the puzzles.
- We'll definitely be going back to finish.
Zoom out: Fleet added a few other elements during its expansion:
🚪 A free public gallery connected to the lobby.
🍿 A new concessions area for the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater.
🥐 Element 8 Cafe added a full-service kitchen, an expanded menu and its own ice cream stand.
🌌 A new basement gallery with ZWO's Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition.