“The entertainment speaks for itself”: Museum of Illusions opens in Pittsburgh

It’s called the Museum of Illusions and it just opened its doors on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.

Once inside the museum’s doors, what your eyes see is all relative.
Kenny Mckernan is the sales and marketing coordinator at the Museum of Illusions Pittsburgh. He showed Channel 11 some of the museum’s optical illusions, like the Bouchet Chair.

“These poles here are all in front of me out here but when I’m back on this chair, it makes me look real tiny,” Mckernan demonstrated.

Illusions like that are almost everywhere you turn during the self-guided tour that takes a little more than an hour.

“We love that we sort of trick kids into learning… which is maybe a little mean, but they love it in the end… the entertainment speaks for itself,” McKernan said.

The 8,000-square-foot site has 80 exhibits. It’s the second-largest iteration of the museum in the United States.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize just how tech-forward Pittsburgh is,” McKernan said. “And it makes us fit in really well with what’s going on inside the city.”

Emily Davis drove down from Irwin to visit the Museum of Illusions.

“It’s really great that it’s interactive because I think it’s fun for kids and it’s fun for adults because I have to keep the child alive inside of me,” Davis said.

Unlike some experiences, this museum encourages visitors to take pictures, tag posts on social media and touch stuff.

The classroom of cool illusions, plenty of puzzles and brain teasers is open to all ages.

The museum has already partnered with some local teens from the Andy Warhol Museum to paint a mural inside. The exhibits will change every three years. Museum staff plans to continue to feature Pittsburgh’s young talented and up-and-coming artists.

If you’re sensitive to flashing lights, have vertigo, epilepsy or balance issues, the staff advises you to skip some exhibits and to let them know about your health condition.

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