The Museum of Illusions is perhaps the

BY GINA GALLUCCI-WHITE Special to The News-Post

The Museum of Illusions opened in December in Washington, D.C., playing host to a number of optical illusions that make people look smaller or taller, vanish part of the body, and other marvels. Very Instagram-worthy.

There is no need to wonder where the best angle is to get a photo. The museum has placed photo stickers on the floor so visitors know where to stand. Ghida Damirji, museum director, says “all the optical illusions are actually based on STEM concepts. It is not like one of those museums now that you go to that are immersive but are using a lot of technology. There is no technology being used here. The technology is really the human eye and the brain. What is happening is, because they are optical illusions, it is the relationship between the eye as the lens and the brain as the processor and how you are processing the images and how your eyes are talking to your brain.” Shown here, Gina Gallucci-White sits in the illusion chair while Jackson White stands by it. Parents often sit in the chair while children stand so they appear taller than the adults.

“The people that enjoy it the most are the ones that put into it,” Damirji says. “You get out of it what you put into it. You let your guard down, you go in, you interact with the exhibit. You take a photo and you laugh at yourself. If you are willing to do that, whatever you put in, you will get out. If you do that, you will come out of the experience with a bunch of fabulous photos. Really some pretty cooky optical illusions that you have gotten to be a part of.” In the Head on a Platter exhibit, shown here, Jackson White grabs some kitchen utensils while Gallucci-White yells from the dish.

Founded in Croatia in 2015, the Museum of Illusions branched out to open a space in Washington, D.C.’s CityCenterDC in December.

Damirji said when she took her kids to museums when they were younger, they could look but not touch or interact with the displays.

“This is interactive,” she says. “It is very immersive. You have to touch. You have to get into the exhibit to really understand it. There are some that are visual. There are some that are more immersive or interactive. The museum is all about taking advantage of photo opportunities.”

Shown here, Gallucci-White in an illusion looking like she is floating while the mirrors hide part of her body holding on to a ladder.

Damirji hopes guests will take away a little bit of a better understanding of optical illusions and how they work. “What I like to say is we are kind of at the intersection of education and entertainment. I hope what you come out with is a really good time and a little bit wiser about how some of this stuff works.” Gallucci-White is seen inside the illusion Kaleidoscope. Be sure to use your camera’s flash to get the best image.

With multiple locations throughout the world, the Museum of Illusions in Washington, D.C., wanted to make some of its exhibits more city-centric by pulling in historical as well as local references, such as an illusion featuring President George Washington’s eyes following you as you walk past his image, a stars and striped infinity mirror room, and the inside of a Metro car, where guests appear on its ceiling, like Gallucci-White, shown here.