Paradox Museum Miami
Photograph: Eric Barton for Time Out | Paradox Museum Miami
Photograph: Eric Barton for Time Out

The best immersive experiences in the U.S. to visit right now

These immersive museums and exhibits allow you to live in the mind of an artist.

Eric Barton
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I recently took renowned artist and friend Kevin Palme to Superblue Miami, curious about how he'd react to immersive art. Would he dismiss it as nothing more than shallow social media backgrounds?

Then, a video wall bloomed with flowers at his touch, bulbs pulsed to the beat of his heart, and a maze of mirrors mesmerized him. But it was James Turrell's AKHU that truly transfixed us both—the entire place bleeding from one color to the other, the space seeming endless.

Like Superblue, the best immersive art museums in America transport you into the mind of an artist, letting you live in their imagination. In the past generation, these experiences have grown from small museum exhibits to vast playgrounds, destinations by themselves. I’ve searched the country to create this list below, the best immersive museums in the U.S..

RECOMMENDED: The weirdest museums in the U.S.

Best immersive experiences in the U.S.

1. Superblue Miami

Superblue’s 50,000-square-foot warehouse in an up-and-coming industrial area of Miami is packed with interactive art. Tickets start at $29, but for a few bucks more, you can access "Massless Clouds Between Sculpture and Life," which simulates that dream you had where you were walking through a 7-Eleven-sized washing machine.

Best for: Deep thinkers, since exhibits here can be thoroughly thought-provoking.

Don’t miss: A mirrored labyrinth and a Ganzfeld effect, where a field of monochrome light challenges depth perception.

2. Meow Wolf

A Santa Fe-based artist collaborative, Meow Wolf built “the first multiversal transit station serving Earth” in five locations around the country, with Los Angeles coming in 2026. Each location sports different names, including Convergence Station in Denver and Omega Mart in Las Vegas. That means that a ticket, starting at $35, will buy you access to some of the trippiest spaces anywhere. Isn't that nice?

Best for: Feeling like you’ve left planet earth for the day.

Don’t miss: If you’re going to hit just one, Omega Mart in Vegas is massive, featuring the work of over 300 artists and designers.

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3. Otherworld

Otherworld is an immersive art experience in Columbus and Philadelphia that combines technology and art. The end result is interactive, large-scale installations that are meant to, and actually often do, jumble reality.

Best for: Those who want to feel wide-eyed again.

Don't miss: The willow tree sculpture in Philadelphia, featuring over two miles of LEDs.

4. AREA15

AREA15 took the idea of an immersive experience and gave it the Vegas treatment (bigger, louder, more dazzling), with about a dozen attractions (including Omega Mart mentioned above). Many of AREA15’s attractions change regularly, including "sense-altering" rides and "alternate realities" rooms. Tickets start at $32 and run up to $160, depending on how much reality you want to have bent.

Best for: With multiple attractions in one place, groups can divide up based on interests.

Don’t miss: Dopeameme turns you into a test subject that must endure dance parties and physical challenges promised to reveal your biggest secrets.

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5. WNDR Museum

If you've ever been put off by museum security guards telling you not to touch the art, then head to WNDR, which has locations in Chicago, San Diego, Seattle and, coming soon, Boston. With tickets starting at $32, the idea here is art exhibits that encourage people to not only interact with the art but to actually become part of it.

Best for: Those who find traditional museums too hands-off.

Don’t miss: Colorful light displays triggered by lying down on a reactive floor.

6. Paradox Museum Miami

The idea behind the 11,000-square-foot Paradox Museum is quite simply to mess with your head. The 70 interactive exhibits challenge your perception by distorting or redirecting what you’re seeing, from the dining room table where it appears like you’re sharing a meal with clones of yourself, to the room that’s literally upside-down.

Best for: The selfie that’s going to blow away your follower(s).

Don’t miss: The Zero Gravity Room that seems like you’re floating in space.

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7. Claude Monet: The Immersive Experience

With exhibits popping up in cities across the globe, this is the granddaddy of the immersive art movement, with massive screens, VR headsets and flowered bridges that take visitors into the artwork of the French impressionist master. Ticket prices depend on the city, but they can be purchased at the Google Play and Apple Store.

Best for: Monet fans, obvs.

Don’t miss: While going deep into Monet in Albany is fine, hitting one of the European locations just seems more on-point.

8. Seismique

Houston’s Seismique is designed to feel like a trip to another galaxy, with "mind-bending" exhibits stretched across 40,000 square feet. With tickets starting at $30, there’s space for meetings or events and galleries for local artists, all of which feel like you’ve entered someone’s very vivid imagination.

Best for: Feeling like you’re on acid without actually failing the drug test at work.

Don’t miss: The DRINQUE, a glow-in-the-dark bar where even the pool table looks like it’s from another dimension.

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9. City Museum

Twenty artists came together to create the interactive exhibits that turn this 600,000-square-foot museum in St. Louis into an immersive experience. With tickets starting at $20, the place features the largest jungle gym in the world, and considering you can crawl on just about everything, the whole thing feels like one massive playground.

Best for: Burning off all that energy before taking the little ones to dinner on The Hill later.

Don’t miss: Getting lost in the spooky Enchanted Caves.

10. Wonderspaces

Wonderspaces got its start way back in 2016 with an idea to partner with artists to create traveling, interactive exhibits. It's currently in several cities, including San Diego and Austin. More than a hundred artists are partners with Wonderspaces, meaning a visit will expose you to the works of a lot of talented folks.

Best for: There’s a good chance Wonderspaces has an exhibit near you.

Don’t miss: The Scottsdale exhibit has a year-round spot in Fashion Square, featuring art installations and signature cocktails.

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11. The Friends Experience

If you’ve ever wanted to hang at Central Perk, or in Rachel and Monica's apartment, or lounge on the couch in front of that fountain from the opening credits scene, The Friends Experience offers the chance to do just that. With sets recreated from the '90s sitcom, the exhibit (now in New York, Las Vegas and several cities across the globe) offers multiple packages that include schwag and photos.

Best for: Serious fans of Friends.

Don’t miss: They sell props and costumes inspired by those from the show to really improve that photo you’re going to take on the Central Perk couch.

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