Gravitas | Dubai's Museum of Illusions closes

After nearly eight years of turning reality upside down, Dubai's Museum of Illusions has shut its doors. Visitors and people across social media are already mourning the loss of one of the UAE's most unusual attractions.

The museum announced the closure on social media, saying its “chapter has come to an end” and thanking visitors for their support. Opened in September 2018 beside Dubai's Old Creek, the attraction became known for more than 60 exhibits combining entertainment with science. Visitors could walk through immersive rooms, explore holograms and stereograms, and use perspective, light and shadows to create mind-bending visual effects, making one person appear gigantic while another looked tiny.

The Dubai venue belonged to the International Museum of Illusions franchise, which began in Zagreb, Croatia, in 2015. News of the closure quickly spread online, prompting disappointment among visitors and calls for the attraction to return.For now, after almost eight years of optical tricks, unusual photographs and interactive learning, the Museum of Illusions Dubai has officially closed its doors.