Optical illusions. We’ve probably grown accustomed to seeing optical illusions on the internet. For example, the ones we often see on social media, google search, and many other platforms. There would also be an instruction for you to focus on a dot for its surroundings to move.
According to research, visual illusions are actually a story, created for us to believe false reality. Our minds can be played with playful tricks. With that in mind, it’s fun to experience illusions physically. That is what we can find at the Museum of Illusions, Kuala Lumpur. Here is a review of our trip.
Museum of Illusions Kuala Lumpur
The Museum of Illusions is situated inside Ansa Hotel, Bukit Bintang. Mind-boggling, fun, and bamboozled are the words I’d use when we went to the museum. True to its reputation, the museum is truly the home of excellent optical illusions (ilusi optik) that might amaze you. There are many types of illusions which include photo illusions, upside-down rooms, the infinity room, a Rubin vase, a vortex room, hollow face illusion (muka cengkung), the infinity well, holograms, and the classic head-on-a-plate scare.
The museum isn’t your typical illusion museum either, there are many things you can learn and many perspectives to look from. It teaches you to think outside the box and look at something with a brand-new perspective. In addition whether you’re bringing your parents, grandparents, friends, or children, everyone can enjoy what the museum has to offer.
Our Favourite Illusions!
We went to the Museum of Illusions in KL so you have to, too! What’s life if you’re not experiencing illusions physically, anyway? Be bamboozled and amazed by us. With that in mind, here is our list of favourite illusions in the museum.
The P.Ramlee that follows…
We started our adventure upstairs where a huge art design of P.Ramlee resides. You’ll see the design once you’ve got a good look around the room as it’s the first thing on the right up the staircase. At first, it was thought to be a very grand and artistic photo of the late artist. But, the eyes follow you wherever you go, no matter which angle and place you stand.
When you’re out of sight, the eyes disappear as well. Now, that’s something scary to see. An enjoyable illusion, nonetheless!
The Vortex
If you can’t stand spinning, then you can skip this one because not all of us could get through it till the finish line, unfortunately. But if you’re able to get to the finish line, congratulations! You’re one tough cookie. The vortex takes you into a new world which makes you feel like you’re out of space, or in a new universe. The vortex stops if no one is inside, and starts spinning once you enter. Even your feet feel light once you enter the vortex as if you’re flying. The vortex is instagrammable, so you can grab a friend who’s the best at taking photos and catch a photo of you flying in the vortex. The trick is to look upwards while you walk through The Vortex. The ultimate illusion, indeed!
3D Puzzles
The puzzles are one of our favourite activities in the Museum of Illusions. We spent a long time appreciating the illusions around the museum, but a longer time with the 3D puzzles they displayed. The puzzles are specially for their visitors to interact with and there are many to choose from. Each table displays 3 3D puzzles and they are scrambled, ready for us to put them back together. My favourite moment during our time assembling the puzzles was when the staff helped us out. They instructed us on the steps to assemble puzzles and voila, it was done! The result was satisfying to see, and we moved on to solve other puzzles. Our experience with the 3D puzzles was full of amazement and satisfaction once we solved them.
A Head on the Plate
Peek-a-boo! The head-on-a-plate scare might be typical for some people, but this was such a new experience for us as it really looked like there was just a head on a platter. With the right camera angle, you’d be fooling a lot of people. Apart from a served plate with a hole in the middle (you can insert your head through here), there are also a mask, a fake axe, and other props as well for your Instagram dream post of the day. Halloween is approaching, so get your gears on and take a good photo for the celebration on 31st October!
We even took home souvenirs!
We couldn’t resist doing their puzzles and even brought back a miniature of their Tower of Hanoi! The image on the right is the larger version that you would see at the museum and you could stack those as well. This puzzle is surely satisfying to solve as you would have to stack it up following the sizes. It looks simple but looks can definitely be deceiving. There are also many other items you can take back to gift your loved ones such as optical illusion postcards, sweaters, t-shirts, caps, and puzzles that you see within the museum!
There are many other illusions you can explore in the Museum of Illusions Kuala Lumpur, you have to visit the place and experience the illusions yourself!
Here are more sneak peeks from the Museum of Optical Illusions KL!
How Much Does it Cost?
Intrigued to visit the Museum of Illusions?
For adults (15 years old and above), the entry cost is RM35 (MyKad) and RM45 (without MyKad).
For children, who are 5 – 15 years old, their entry cost is RM25 (MyKad) and RM35 (without MyKad).
The elderly’s entry cost is only RM30 (MyKad) and RM40 (without MyKad).
A whole family of 2 adults and 2 children’s entry cost is only RM90 (MyKad) and RM120 (without MyKad).
Get your tickets by clicking here!
The Journey
There are many transport options you can opt for to visit the museum. Additionally, the building is easy to find as well since it’s in the heart of KL. The building is between Lot 10 and Fahrenheit 88 which is easy to locate. You can drive a car and park inside Lot 10 or whichever is easy for you to access. Also, you can use the LRT and the MRT (Line 9) / to access the place by stopping at the Bukit Bintang MRT station. You can also ride the bus by riding the 580, blue, green, and purple line. Then, there is also the Bukit Bintang monorail on Line 8. There is also the Hop-Off & Go KL City Bus.
So what are you waiting for? The Illusion Museum awaits your arrival!
Contact Details
Website l Instagram l Facebook
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Illusions allow people to have different perspectives and you would have to pay attention and look at the object differently. It’s either you’ve failed to see something that is there or it just really isn’t there. Therefore, it disconnects perception and reality.
A fine illusion counts in colour, motion, shape, and the amount of light that hits your eyes. These are the factors that will make you see an illusion.
The first illusion can be traced back to the 5th century B.C. It was created by Epicharmus who first explained this phenomenon.
It affects your perception of your reality, therefore you start questioning whether this is reality or not. What makes illusions so interesting is that they pique your curiosity and you want to know the secret behind them.
There are 3 types of illusions. The first one is literal optical illusions (the image is different than how you see it), physiological optical illusions (when the eyes see too much motion, light, and dimension that it confuses the brain), and cognitive optical illusions (this relies heavily on your subconscious mind).
