Interactive Museums to Check out in The USA and Ukraine
Do you ever go to a museum and feel as if the velvet ropes and glass cases standing between you and the art make the whole experience unenjoyable? If that is the case, then consider going on a field trip to an interactive museum. Many art galleries and museums today are becoming more and more interactive, so you’re not just going to these museums to walk around in stuffy rooms and read fine print descriptions. By adding in features like animation or physical sensors, these museums allow viewers to become a part of the art, interact with it and each other, and learn something new at the same time.
Below is a list of five essential interactive museums or exhibits in both the United States and Ukraine to put down on your bucket list.
Infinity Rooms at The Broad, Los Angeles
This Los Angeles museum features Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirror rooms, which are “mirror-lined rooms with flashing LED lights that you physically enter with a door that closes behind you” (www.thebroad.org). Appreciate the beauty of this amazing optical illusion as you get lost in these infinity rooms!
Water Museum, Kyiv
Water is something we may take for granted, and this Kiev museums seeks to change that. The Water Museum offers an insider view of Kiev’s water supply system and brings it to life through interactive exhibits that allow you to alter a river bed, provoke lightning, or stand inside a soap bubble.
Mykola Syadristy Museum, the Museum of Micro Minatures, Kyiv
Located in the Kyivo- Pecherska Lavra monastery, this museum is one of the four museums in the world to showcase micro miniatures. This museum features a collection of artist Mykola Syadritsky’s miniatures, from a balaika in a poppy to poems by the poet Taras Shevchenko. Look into the microscope to witness a fascinating little world!
The Experimentarium, Kyiv
photo: kyivpost.com
If you enjoy chemistry and physics (or do not enjoy chemistry and physics but want to), then this is the place to go. The Experimentarium features 250 permanent exhibits, where you can learn how to build a bridge without nails, fly a cloud into the air, or recharge Jedi’s swords. This museum conducts individual or group tours which last about an hour. Definitely stop by to dive into the world of science!
SKYSCAPE, New York
Ever dreamed of being a spy? I definitely have, and if that is also the case for you, then I would recommend checking out this interactive museum in New York. SKYSCAPE features seven galleries dedicated to deception, encryption, surveillance, hacking, intelligence, cyber warfare, and special ops. Visitors wear wristbands and try out their spy skills by competing challenges on an undercover mission.
Exploratorium, San Francisco
Described "a mad scientist's penny arcade, a scientific funhouse, and an experimental laboratory all rolled into one", this interactive museum in San Francisco, California features exhibits that allow the audience to discover art, science, and human perception through hands-on experiences and activities. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like stepping inside a tornado or dancing on a fog bridge, then be sure to plan a day trip to this original interactive museum.
Discovery Place, Charlotte
If you enjoy interactive exhibits but also enjoy going to the movies, this scientific museum in Charlotte, North Carolina is the perfect combination of the two. This museum always features an aquarium with the opportunity for hands-on activities and other exhibit rooms, and is the perfect opportunity for anyone of any age to make all sorts of scientific discoveries under one roof.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yuri Nesen is a student at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C. studying Global Business, Diplomatic Studies, and Arabic. He enjoys watching animated movies, running and exploring new places, and he is a complete dessert fanatic.