Enter another world with these 6 immersive experiences

In an immersive experience, boundaries blur: once you enter this thematic space, your senses are invaded and you are no longer a witness but an actor. Lose yourself in art, games, food and other pleasures in these six innovative initiatives.

Enable

(Image credit: Activate)

Combining physical and digital play, Activate lets you choose your own adventure. Start by selecting an interactive room, then choose one of the games in the room and a difficulty level. Stay in a room and play the same game over and over, try each space and game, or move back and forth—it’s up to you. Each game lasts no longer than three minutes and requires a variety of actions, from jumping to climbing to problem-solving. Activate has more than 40 locations across the US and Canada, with locations opening soon in the UK and UAE.

Museum of Art

(Photo credit: Catherine Garcia / The Week)

Using projectors, giant screens, colored lights and powerful sound systems, the Arte Museum transports visitors to gardens, jungles and forests, real and imagined, around the world. The Arte Museum’s central theme is “Nature Eternal,” and digital waterfalls, virtual waves and projections of the Northern Lights are featured at its eight locations in Asia and the United States. In Las Vegas, visitors to the live sketch room draw animals, scan them and then watch them almost immediately come to life on the walls. “It’s a delightful communal moment, one that awakens the artist in all of us,” the Los Angeles Times said.

Artechouse

(Photo credit: Artechouse)

Artechouse is all about technology and art. There are three locations—Houston, New York, and Washington, D.C.—and each has its own programming that changes with the seasons. One thing is consistent across all locations: All of the artwork is digitally created with cutting-edge tools. In Washington, D.C., “Isekai: Blooming Parallel Worlds” is an annual anime-inspired ode to cherry blossoms. “While it primarily offers intense audiovisual thrills and stunning selfie backdrops, Isekai also offers educational content,” the Washington Post said, explaining the history of the Capitol’s cherry blossoms.

Overview

(Image credit: Flyover)

Sit back, buckle up, and prepare to soar over some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes. Flyover is an immersive attraction where passengers sit in front of a giant spherical screen in seats that rotate, tilt, and dive, giving the impression of being in flight. Special effects like wind, mist, and scents intensify the experience. There are Flyovers in Las Vegas, Reykjavik, Vancouver, and Chicago, the newest location. With shots of Lake Michigan, Wrigley Field, the Tribune Tower, and other local icons, the film is “dizzying and inspiring,” the Chicago Tribune said, and enough to “restore faith in the beauty, resilience, and strength of character of this city.”

The Murder Express

(Photo credit: Murder Express)

Billing itself as “where food meets entertainment,” London’s Murder Express takes dinner theater to the extreme. The show begins with guests boarding a train at the fictional Pedley Street station and quickly moves on to a murder and the rest of the group having to figure out who the culprit is. The food is “impressive,” Secret London said, and the set design is “super cool,” with “an attention to detail” throughout. Screens next to the tables showing countryside landscapes make it feel like you’re actually heading somewhere, and the audience participation elements provide “laugh-out-loud laughter.”

Omega Market

(Image credit: Meow Wolf)

This is no ordinary grocery store at all. At Meow Wolf’s incredible Omega Mart in Las Vegas, visitors first enter a faux marketplace filled with absurd goods found only here, like bottles of Plausible Deniability laundry detergent (if an item isn’t mounted on the wall, it’s available for purchase). This leads to “not-so-hidden portals to the large-scale exhibits beyond,” the Los Angeles Times said, which are “wildly colorful” and “enveloping.” Different narratives are told along the way, “allowing visitors to place themselves in a mystical story” that keeps them on the edge of their seats.