VOA文化艺术2025--The Paradox Museum Miami Aims to Trick the Eye

Paradox¹ Museum Miami is a mixture of art, science, and fun.

The 1,000-square-meter museum is housed in Miami's Wynwood arts and entertainment area. It has more than 70 public displays known as exhibits. Executive director Samantha Impellizeri says these exhibits challenge the imagination.

She added that visitors can walk away from the experience with some really fun and interesting material for social media.

Paradox Museum has more than ten locations throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The Miami location, which opened in 2022, was the first in North America.

The term paradox is central to the museum and what visitors experience. A paradox is a situation or thing that has seemingly opposite or contradictory² qualities.

"Each paradox is uniquely tied to its community," Impellizeri said. "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."

Many of the displays at Paradox Museum suggest old carnival³ funhouses - buildings that had devices and rooms designed to surprise or amaze visitors.

Examples include the mirror maze⁴, the spinning tunnel, and the upside-down room. The difference is that Paradox Museum explains the math and science behind each illusion.

"We're a top field trip destination for pre-K all the way up through college students," Impellizeri said. She added that the museum has a large number of educational activities that students can do before, during, and after the visit.

Like any museum, Paradox Museum plans to change its exhibits to keep visitors coming back.

"We're not going to be the same space in a year to three years from now," Impellizeri said.

Paradox Museum Miami introduced a new Zero Gravity Room last fall. Visitors can turn their smart phone cameras on and attach their phones to a spinning holder⁵. Then they step into a large, slowly moving room designed to look like the inside of a space station. The resulting video makes it look as though they are walking up the wall and ceiling inside a room unaffected by gravity.

Paradox Museum is part of a movement towards so-called "immersive art experiences." 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.

"Immersive experiences around the world are increasing in popularity," Impellizeri noted⁶.

Immersive art experiences have opened all over the world during the past 10 years or so. 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. Superblue Miami, which opened in 2021, is another example.

Visitors generally take 60 to 90 minutes to make their way through Paradox Museum. Tickets normally cost $26 for adults and teenagers and $20 for children.

Seventeen-year-old Facundo Ildarraz and his family came to Miami from Argentina. Ildarraz said his mother found Paradox Museum online. He said it turned out to be a great chance to take fun photos with his family.

"I've been laughing since I went inside," Ildarraz said. "It's really amazing."

Dennis Speigel is head of a business advisory⁷ company called International Theme Park Services, Inc. Speigel said immersive experiences are a natural progression of location-based entertainment. Location-based entertainment includes go-cart tracks, laser tag, paint ball, indoor skydiving, escape rooms and trampoline parks. These are activities that take visitors a few hours to go through.

"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.

I'm John Russell.

David Fischer reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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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 stimulate⁸ by presenting difficulties; to invite for a competition

location -n. the place where a business is

theme - n. subject of artistic⁹ representation

installation - n. a work of art that usually has several components¹⁰ 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 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

2 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

3 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

4 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

5 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

8 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

9 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

10 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。