This past weekend I visited a new immersive art and entertainment space in Northeast Philadelphia called Otherworld. It’s located on Grant Ave. just off Roosevelt Blvd. Otherworld describes this extremely unique installation as “a world where anything is possible. A place with no rules, only your imagination to guide you through countless rooms of large-scale interactive art, mixed reality playgrounds, and secret passageways that await you in their surreal landscape of science fiction and fantasy.”
It was all that and much more! So many cool rooms and interactive exhibitions throughout Otherworld’s massive space. It’s like a massive trippy museum, where everything is interactive. Everything from the carpet to the walls and all the cool lights and characters are all part of the sensory experience.
The first, and only other Otherworld immersive art experience was opened in 2019 in a 32,000-square-foot space, in Columbus Ohio.
Otherworld creators teamed up with Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group to bring Otherworld Philadelphia to life in Northeast Philly. They use a preproduction process like that of a video game to create each room and experience before bringing it into a 3-dimensional, interactive space.
It’s like taking any of your favorite scenes and environments from your favorite fantasy movies and bringing them to life. There are interactive puzzles and games located throughout the massive space, some of which are hidden and it’s up to you to follow the puzzle’s path to completion.
Plan on taking at least a couple hours on your journey inside Otherworld. There is so much to see and experience in every room, that you will definitely circle back around the exhibits a few more times to see and feel things you may have missed initially.
Otherworld is located at 2500 Grant Ave. in Philadelphia, right off the Roosevelt Blvd. Their hours are Monday, Wednesday & Thursday 11am to 8pm, Friday & Saturday 11am to 10pm and Sundays from 10am to 7pm. I recommend you purchase your tickets online ahead of time via OtherworldPhila.com. It’s much easier to select your timed tickets that way.