The Museum of Illusions will open its San Francisco location at 735 Market Street, steps from Yerba Buena Gardens, Moscone Center, and Union Square, on Friday, Nov. 13. Now with locations throughout the United States and worldwide, the Museum of Illusions is the largest and fastest-growing private museum. The San Francisco opening, along with Sacramento on Nov. 6, marks the brand’s arrival in Northern California. Illusory exhibits play tricks on visitors’ minds and also reveal the science behind the illusions.
Nothing is what it seems
The interactive museum encourages visitors to touch, enter, experiment with, and photograph the exhibits, while on-site “illusion experts” help explain the science behind what they see. The over 7,000-square-foot museum features 70 interactive exhibits and attractions, including fan favorites and exhibits dedicated to San Francisco’s history and culture. Find yourself growing impossibly taller as you travel across the floor of a mind-bending room, see yourself in multiples, or see reflections of yourself cloned in seemingly impossible gravity-defying ways. A collection of holograms, 3D wall art, and optical illusions continues the disorienting pulse of illusory entertainment. Optical illusions become a science lesson in how our brains perceive perspective and shape.
Ghost Room
Spirits or science? Either way, the Ghost Room’s mysterious charm will make its U.S. debut at the museum’s San Francisco location. Guests are invited to sit on opposite sides of a pane of glass, and then attempt to touch or embrace. Hands reaching out appear to pass through one another. This is the work of a reflective, transparent pane of glass, allowing the illusion to be perfected through a trick of the light, without holograms or “actual” ghosts.
Reversed Room
Gravity disobeys its own laws inside the San Francisco cable cars located in the Reversed Room. A tribute to the city’s longstanding history of streetcars and light rail, the classic streetcar takes an unexpected turn, turning the cityscape upside down.
Following Eyes
Like something out of a classic horror movie, Following Eyes is a colorful portrait inspired by Haight-Ashbury and San Francisco’s role at the center of the 1960s counterculture movement. The portrait captures the spirit of psychedelia and altered states since, as the viewer moves through the room, the eyes appear to follow and to watch. Following Eyes teaches us, once again, about the difference between what we see and what we think we see.
Science, discovery, and fun
“San Francisco is a city that loves to question what’s possible, and we’re thrilled to open a brand-new museum here where guests can do exactly that,” said Rob Cooper, Interim CEO of Museum of Illusions. “We’ve created an experience that is playful and highly visual, but there’s real science and discovery behind it, too. With more than 70 exhibits, locally inspired experiences, and even an all-new U.S. debut, there will be something here to surprise guests of every age. We’re excited to finally open our doors on November 13th and give San Francisco a chance to experience it for themselves.”
Museum of Illusions San Francisco will be open Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. General admission is $32 for adults, $28 for children ages 5-12, and $30 for seniors; presale tickets are available through Nov. 12 at a 50 percent discount.
