[00:00.00]Paradox Museum Miami is a mixture of art, science, and fun.
[00:08.62]The 1,000-square-meter museum is housed in Miami's Wynwood arts and entertainment area.
[00:18.27]It has more than 70 public displays known as exhibits.
[00:24.59]Executive director Samantha Impellizeri says these exhibits challenge the imagination.
[00:34.20]She added that visitors can walk away from the experience with some really fun and interesting material for social media.
[00:45.34]Paradox Museum has more than ten locations throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
[00:54.64]The Miami location, which opened in 2022, was the first in North America.
[01:03.89]The term paradox is central to the museum and what visitors experience.
[01:12.30]A paradox is a situation or thing that has seemingly opposite or contradictory qualities.
[01:21.73]"Each paradox is uniquely tied to its community," Impellizeri said.
[01:28.76]"So as you walk throughout the experience, you'll notice different themes and art installations that directly reflect not only Miami but the Wynwood community specifically."
[01:46.03]Many of the displays at Paradox Museum suggest old carnival funhouses - buildings that had devices and rooms designed to surprise or amaze visitors.
[02:00.72]Examples include the mirror maze, the spinning tunnel, and the upside-down room.
[02:08.97]The difference is that Paradox Museum explains the math and science behind each illusion.
[02:18.40]"We're a top field trip destination for pre-K all the way up through college students," Impellizeri said.
[02:28.80]She added that the museum has a large number of educational activities that students can do before, during, and after the visit.
[02:41.63]Like any museum, Paradox Museum plans to change its exhibits to keep visitors coming back.
[02:51.22]"We're not going to be the same space in a year to three years from now," Impellizeri said.
[03:01.01]Paradox Museum Miami introduced a new Zero Gravity Room last fall.
[03:07.56]Visitors can turn their smart phone cameras on and attach their phones to a spinning holder.
[03:15.88]Then they step into a large, slowly moving room designed to look like the inside of a space station.
[03:25.65]The resulting video makes it look as though they are walking up the wall and ceiling inside a room unaffected by gravity.
[03:37.42]Paradox Museum is part of a movement towards so-called "immersive art experiences."
[03:45.65]These kinds of art experiences often use technology to make the visitors feel like they are taking part in art rather than just looking at it.
[03:59.49]"Immersive experiences around the world are increasing in popularity," Impellizeri noted.
[04:08.28]Immersive art experiences have opened all over the world during the past 10 years or so.
[04:16.97]Examples include a company called Meow Wolf with several locations in the western United States, as well as a Van Gogh exhibit that has been traveling through North America, Europe and Asia since 2017.
[04:36.51]Superblue Miami, which opened in 2021, is another example.
[04:43.82]Visitors generally take 60 to 90 minutes to make their way through Paradox Museum.
[04:52.48]Tickets normally cost $26 for adults and teenagers and $20 for children.
[05:01.81]Seventeen-year-old Facundo Ildarraz and his family came to Miami from Argentina.
[05:09.85]Ildarraz said his mother found Paradox Museum online.
[05:16.01]He said it turned out to be a great chance to take fun photos with his family.
[05:22.35]"I've been laughing since I went inside," Ildarraz said. "It's really amazing."
[05:30.92]Dennis Speigel is head of a business advisory company called International Theme Park Services, Inc.
[05:40.72]Speigel said immersive experiences are a natural progression of location-based entertainment.
[05:50.72]Location-based entertainment includes go-cart tracks, laser tag, paint ball, indoor skydiving, escape rooms and trampoline parks.
[06:05.27]These are activities that take visitors a few hours to go through.
[06:11.42]"It's a lot of little things that we've had in the industry for years, heightened by our new technology...to make the experience new and something people haven't seen," Speigel said.
[06:27.41]I'm John Russell.
_________________________________________________
Words in This Story
museum - n. a place where objects are shown or exhibited
entertainment -n. watching performances and doing public activities for fun
challenge - v. to interest or stimulate by presenting difficulties; to invite for a competition
location -n. the place where a business is
theme - n. subject of artistic representation
installation - n. a work of art that usually has several components and is often in mixed media
illusion - n. something that tricks or deceives
pre-K (pre-kindergarten) -n. school for very young children
immersive - adj. characterized by immersion or deep involvement in something (such as an activity or artificial environment)
/1 
