WonderWorks - Part 2 - Optical Illusions

WonderWorks - Part 2 - Optical Illusions...yes, it's true...I got way behind on blogging while actually ON vacation so I will be blogging about it after the fact NOW and for the next week or two.

Looking back on our trip to Pigeon Forge, TN, and all of the photos I took...I really enjoyed the Optical Illusions at WonderWorks.  It may have been my favorite part of the building.  Everything from the up-side-down building as a whole to the eye-trickery that was found in many of the displays inside of the building.

The first photo is of one of the staircases inside WonderWorks.  I love the prints, patterns, paint, colors, images...everything!  Every spec of the place was SPOTLESS!  Very clean!  Very creative and fun for all ages!

This 2nd photo is one of the prints in the art gallery section of the optical illusion part of the walk-thru.  Remember those eye-magic books that were really trendy in the 90s?  That's what this reminded me of!  With this one you could stand in front of it for about 30 seconds and it appeared to be moving...but...of course...it really wasn't.

Then there was this 'thing' hanging on the wall.  The wall was pretty plain-jane and had directional lights on both sides of this wire art piece.

This section was sponsored by Crayola Crayons. 

I wondered WHY until I turned the lights on and off to see what all the fuss was about.  It ended up being pretty cool.

It might not look like much now but check out what happens when I turned the lights on and off...

BAM!

Pretty neat, eh!? 

They had another one next to this one that ended up being an outline of the United States.

I didn't know that WonderWorks had 6 locations.  We were looking into Myrtle Beach before booking this trip to Pigeon Forge.  Both of those tourist destinations are home to WonderWorks...but they seemed to have their own things going for them at each location.

Another 'hands-on station' they had was this one! 

Remember those little desk pieces or table top games that you found in toy shops or science shop years ago that you could push your hand or your face into and you would see the indent on one side and the imprint on the other?  Well, this was a life sized one of those and it was pretty awesome.

Of course - I'm a goofball - and HAD to try it...

Dale always KNEW I was a little crazy but I think this trip really wonder about me...

BUT...I wasn't the only one....

There must have been a guy about 6'3"-6'5" that was there before me that tried to press his whole body up against it.  It was a little freaky to see up close and with no one around.  For some reason it reminded me of "Max Headroom" or something.

With the way the lights hit this last photo I thought it looked a little like rainbows and/or like I was reaching for the rainbow!  Yes...I had a fun time at WonderWorks...I guess I still am a kid at heart, eh!?

WonderWorks - Part 1

This is part 1 of our visit to WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge.  I took a lot of photos!  Sure - it's IDEAL for families with children but my look will be from an adults point of view.  Or - if you prefer - children young and old will enjoy various things throughout their attraction.  It's VERY hands-on...as you will see!

First up...one of the stops we took a look at is the Google Earth 'booth'.  It had a very large and colorful screen.  Once you figured out the controls and functionality it was neat to zoom in and out on your town or city.  It's much like what you would see on your computer screen but on a larger scale.

Nearby the Google station there was a nice man taking photos of couples in front of a blue screen (or if you are the technical type - it was actually a green screen - but you know what I mean!)  We opted NOT to buy the photos at the end but I think it would be fun for couples or families for their scrapbooks.

Speaking of 'fun facts' I was reminded again just how short I was! Not only was there a place that would tell you your exact height - there was also a place you could stand in front of the average basketball player to see how you compared in height.

There were a few smaller areas where you could try and locate the 'purple' bead in the mix of millions of other ones and it would tell you the odds of someone actually finding that one bead...or you could shoot hoops...or try the virtual batting cages...and they would have neat facts around each station.

I was told I was 5'1"...I thought I was shy of 5'2" so I wasn't that far off.  Dale is convinced he's shrinking...but...then again...I think that happens to us all over time.

There were a few children and families there today while we were there but there were more couples without children than I thought there would be.  It was cool that we weren't the only ones!

There were things to look at EVERYWHERE and I mean EVERYWHERE.  Just a few twists and turns into the exhibit we looked up and saw kids walking on what looked like glow-in-the-dark tight ropes.

And speaking of things that made you almost lose your balance...we went thru a glow-in-the-dark tunnel with a bridge that made you feel like you were spinning and going to fall but you weren't really moving at all!  It was all just an optical illusion.  If you like eye trickery you will LOVE this place.  And lucky for me - I do - so this was GREAT!
But...first more on the fun lights and such! Remember Lite Brights?


Well, this place had a life sized display that you could light up what you wanted.  Continuing with the light and motion theme - there was a room you could go in and 'strike a pose' up against the wall and the light flash would freeze your pose in time on the wall.  Here's one that we did.  I look like a hippie-peace-signing scarecrow and Dale looks like something supernatural.

And just for kicks I decided to have Dale take my picture while posing as a member of NASA.  There were kids in the nearby 'space stations' learning about space and control centers and such.  They looked like they were having a great time, too!

Yes!  I took a lot of photos.  More than I thought I did...so I will have to break this post up into at least 2 parts so stay tuned for more of our adventures from WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge!

One View on One Day

A view from the balcony.  It was about 76 degrees, sunny, and fair outside...a very nice day!  We went to WonderWorks and I will post separately about that adventure but a few other things we did was drive around Pigeon Forge, spend time in our cabin, a lot of time with Paco, and we went Grocery Shopping at Kroger and found a few good deals.  Oh, yes!  Last night we went to Tom & Earl's Back Alley Grill.  It was a neat place in the middle of the village portion of Gatlinburg.  Since we were so tired from our trip I didn't take photos but we hope to go back and spend some time there so I will be sure to take some snaps when we return to that area.  Another thing that happened this morning we already saw our first black bear.  I wasn't able to get a picture, tho, it was about a foot from our parked car in front of the kitchen which is in the front of the cabin.

Before I get to the WonderWorks part - I wanted to post a few photos of the Magic Museum portion of the building.  It was small but neat.  There were a lot of historical magazines, paper clippings, and memorabilia.  A great place to visit for families and any fan of magic.  

They had displayed a few of the magicians classics such as this one.  I really enjoyed seeing the old time media, photos, and pop culture part of it.

And I couldn't help but think of Harry Potter when I saw their collection of wands.

Next up...a post about the WonderWorks Portion of this building.  One of my favorite parts was the eye candy - starting off with this wild up-side-down building!  This is in Pigeon Forge, TN, and was fun...stay tuned for more...