Incredible immersive experiences to do in NYC right now

Back in 1987, an art amusement park—featuring works from Keith Haring, Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and more—delighted visitors in Germany. There were plans for a world tour, but it never happened, and the art was abandoned. Until now, that is.

Now, you can walk through Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, a wonderland featuring a Basquiat Ferris wheel, a Haring carousel, a Lichtenstein labyrinth, puppets and other immersive experiences in this limited-time installation at The Shed. Luna Luna is, hands down, the coolest art exhibition to open in New York City this year, and it's on view through January 5, 2025 with tickets starting at $44/person.

If these 4:30pm sunsets in NYC are getting you down, this new immersive experience at Genesis House might be just the antidote. Called STARSCAPE, this light installation explores the beauty of darkness and the wonders of the cosmos.  

The walk-through exhibit was designed by Ethan Tobman, who is known for his visual storytelling as creative director of The Eras Tour. But unlike Taylor Swift's concerts, this experience is completely free to see with no tickets required. Tobman drew inspiration from Dongji, the Korean Winter Solstice, to craft an awe-inspiring journey through the longest night of the year.

STARSCAPE is now open to the public through January 12. No reservations are needed; just show up. Public operating hours are Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–7pm. Find it at 40A 10th Ave. in the Meatpacking District.

Mercer Labs, Museum of Art and Technology is a unique new immersive museum created by Roy Nachum, the artist behind Rihanna’s famous 2016 “Anti” album cover, and his business partner Michael Cayre, a real estate developer. Not only are the visual elements striking and entertaining but certain rooms are specifically targeted towards the younger set while appeasing adults as well. A mere walk through Mercer Labs makes one thing clear: the immersive space can be much more than that given its size and the clear technological capabilities embedded in each room.

Basically a massive maze made of ropes, this new exhibit allows attendees to jump inside, climb, relax and even get lost in the whole webbed arrangement that’s comprised of 80,000 feet of handwoven rope, which is part of a 400-square-foot interactive artwork created by Treenet Collective, a net expert company. 

Find "The INTERnet" at INTER_, the interactive art center at 415 Broadway by Canal Street in Soho.

The installation, which accommodates 15 people at once, boasts a variety of different weaving styles, each one creating a "setting" for folks to dive into, including the "quantum leap," where guests can play in mid-air, and the "social network," a more serene space that will feel like you are floating above everyone else.

Think bugs are creepy? Think again. That's the message of IMAGINARI, an immersive art and science experience in Manhattan. 

The year-long exhibition called The Insect World shows just how cool—and important—bugs actually are. You’ll get to walk through fields of 6-foot flowers, come face-to-face with Picasso bug artwork, and see a mantis partying under a disco ball. Larger-than-life ladybug sculptures dot the floor, and 200 faux monarch butterflies perch on a 12-foot cherry blossom tree. It all adds up to an important message of environmental stewardship.

Tickets are on sale now for $36; the all-ages exhibition will be on view until April 2025.

Live like Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe at The FRIENDS Experience: The One in New York City. It's basically an immersive museum celebrating the '90s sitcom. You'll get to walk through rooms that look exactly like the ones on the TV show.

Photo opportunities abound. There’s a chance to pose with the “Pivot” couch, a backdrop that looks like the Vegas chapel, and a photo opp with Phoebe’s grandma’s taxi. You can even pose on top of Pat the Dog, snap a photo with the giant poking device and take a selfie in Monica’s apartment. Using high-quality cameras, staff take photos at each spot, which you can purchase at the end. But staff will also take free photos with your cell phone if you ask. 

It's not just a selfie museum, though. There's a fascinating display featuring the show's costume designer Debra McGuire where you'll learn about her sartorial choices for each character. Another exhibit spotlights artist Burton Morris, whose Pop art pieces decorate Central Perk. Other display cases feature set designs, signed scripts, props and costumes.  

Many museums start with some kind of orientation, like a map or remarks from a docent. But not The House of Cannabis (a.k.a. THC NYC), the new weed museum in Soho. Instead, this museum starts, quite fittingly, with a trippy “Disorientation Room.”

While this museum boasts plenty of mind-bending multi-sensory bells and whistles, it also showcases art, highlights science and confronts the social justice issues baked into cannabis prosecution. The museum, the first of its kind at this scale, packs every inch of its four-story, 25,000-square-foot space at 427 Broadway with fascinating facts and delightful immersive experiences fit to entertain both tokers and non-smokers alike. Tickets ($45/adult) are on sale now.

Get ready for heart-pounding experience in the sky unlike any other experience atop a skyscraper. Summit One Vanderbilt sits atop the new 67-floor One Vanderbilt super-tall—a 1,401-foot-high—skyscraper.

As the city's fourth-tallest building after One World Trade Center, Central Park Tower and 111 West 57th Street, it sits just west of Grand Central Terminal, where you first enter the experience underground. After a trip through a mirrored hallway with its own immersive elements, visitors take an elevator up to the 91st floor, where they're 1,000 feet over the streets and sidewalks of NYC.

Kenzo Digital has created a totally mirrored infinity room called "Air" that reflects the sky and city views over and over, making you feel like you're walking in the sky or on another plane of existence. Looking above you and below you in this two-story space, you see your reflection repeating forever.

One of the coolest parts of the experience is that it changes with the weather and time of day. When the weather is nice, it'll look like you're walking among the clouds. When it's stormy, you'll see the rain fly sideways and around the building. 

Part visual splendor, part olfactory wonder and part ooey-gooey sensory fun, Sloomoo Institute’s slime museum offers a captivating playground for all ages.

While Sloomoo is a highly Instagrammable experience, the founders hope you’ll spend some time away from your phone and immersed in the moment during your 90-minute visit to truly have the slime of your life. You can squish vats of slime, make your own slime to take home and even stand under a slime waterfall—that's truly immersive.