A Funhouse-Like Exhibit Is Opening at the American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History is opening an exhibition all about the senses called Our Senses: An Immersive Experience.

Focusing on sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste, this “funhouse-like” exhibit will explore how our senses can deceive our perceptions of everyday life and how they have evolved over time, according to a press release.

There will be 11 interactive galleries to put the senses to the test, including a room with changing lights to reveal different images under certain lights; a black and white room that will make the floor look like there are curves and ripples; an audio collage to test how well a person can track individual sounds; a smell test to identify certain fragrances; and learning how the brain works to create perceptions of “reality.” 

Along with these galleries, there will be a live presentation to discuss how we use senses for survival and how it differs from other species.

Our Senses: An Immersive Experience is curated by Rob DeSalle, a curator for the museum’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology and conducts research at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics. One of the institute’s most recent exhibits is called Brain: The Inside Story and delved into how the human brain uses molecular, chemical, and electrical signals to interpret information.