Find high tech unrealities and historical mind-benders at Pittsburgh’s new Museum of Illusions

An illusion is defined as a thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses. Pittsburgh’s newly opened Museum of Illusions uses a mixture of technology and classic methods to make people do a double take.

In the two months it’s been open, Pittsburghers of all ages have visited the North Shore to experience a world where pretty much everything is not what it seems.

Whether it’s the tilted room where you appear to be standing on a slant, the reversed room where gravity appears upside-down, or the vortex tunnel that appears to be spinning around you, the 20 exhibits are designed to entertain while provoking questions, according to Museum of Illusions sales and marketing coordinator Kenny McKernan.

“All of our exhibits have an explanation about why your brain or why your eyes are perceiving it the way that you are,” McKernan told Technical.ly. “So we try to educate people on the science behind each illusion.”

Pittsburgh’s MOI contains classic mind-benders like the Ames Room, invented in the mid-20th century by American ophthalmologist Adelbert Ames, and newer illusions created by the Croatia-based company that owns the Museum of Illusions franchise. Some attractions are copies of illusions found across Europe, like the cascading sculptures.

Between the original staff and local artists, McKernan said, the museums are always open to adding something new.

“A lot of the [illusions] were originally designed by the team in Croatia,” McKernan said. “So some of these newer installations are something the staff designed on their own.”

The newest attractions are the most high tech, per McKernan, such as the walk-in Kaleidoscope — it’s basically a massive LCD screen that the museum’s staff surrounded by mirrors. Some rooms have a setup that allows video to be run throughout the day. Other depend on modern lighting tactics.

“With some of our rooms, like the color room … it’s all based on using light technology,” McKernan said. That’s also true for the “red, green, and blue room,” which is intended for children but is also fun for older people, he said. “[It’s] new information for kids that might seem obvious sometimes to us, but introducing it to them in a fun way. And then even sometimes we can educate some adults too.”

To add a more local feel, the museum added skylines to some of the rooms and commissioned artists from the Andy Warhol Museum’s teen program to paint a mural.

“Three of their artists from their team program [designed] that mural that’s out there, and it came out beautiful,” McKernan said. “I think they really nailed the pop art style that we wanted to capture in the field of Pittsburgh.”

Ultimately, whether they come for a field trip, a date, or just wander in out of curiosity, McKernan stressed that the Museum for Illusions is for everyone. The company, he said, tried to design it so every visitor could enjoy the exhibits in a memorable way.

“We’re all ages,” McKernan said. “You see kids everywhere in this museum. And it makes a lot of sense for them to enjoy the place. But I see a lot of older couples that come in and really enjoy and get that they roll around on the ground in the building illusion.”

Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments.