Become a Spy

Inspiration:

Now who wouldn't want to be stealthy and suave? 2 very good "s" adjectives if I say so myself.

Or a spy kid...another solid "s.

Okay, so yes while I would legitimately love to be a spy, how this actually came to life was looking for something unique to occupy a rainy Sunday in NYC. A few days earlier, I had asked a local Yorker (what I am self dubbing a local NYC native) for recommendations on what to do in the city beyond all the touristy spots.

And she said "Spyspace, the spy museum!"

From then on, I was hooked.

**And let it be known that she did add she visited the museum while drunk for her 21st birthday. Well, 1. I'm not 21 and 2. I wanted to experience the museum in its entirety while remembering it properly for my first time ... but don't count out a "Become a Spy...while Drunk" blog post from me in the future.

Journey:

For some context, check out Skyscape in video form:

So you enter this tall grey building with shaded windows so you have no clue as to the spy trickery that's going on inside. When you enter, you're met with a slight chill and walk up to different desks either to scan your tickets or buy them there. (Tickets are like $40 if you're interested in becoming a savvy spy) I swear everyone who worked there was so poised that I whispered to my friend "what if these people are all spies?"

After scanning your fancy wristband that has the museum's ? logo, you're registered into the system and greeted by the first screen of many. If anyone could tell me the font of the screens, that'd be helpful. For a spy museum, I was immensely impressed by the clean aesthetic and design of the whole experience.

We were next taken into a giant elevator, so big I didn't even know they existed in New York City, and as we rode it up a 360 degree video played about the growing prevalence of hackers and risk to cybersecurity. Cheery indeed.

The way that Spyscape worked was that there was a mix of interactive challenges, digital kiosks with mini quizzes testing your personality, risk and problem solving, and traditional informational exhibits. You would scan your wristband to access every station and stand in order to feed data to your individualized profile. After going through all the interactive challenges and registering the answers on 12 different mini quizzes, you ended the museum journey by being given your "spy profile."

Highlights:

1. Surveillance Room

You enter this 360 degree room covered in screens and are overwhelmed in a purposeful way. The information covers figures like Snowden, who can interestingly be viewed as both a hero and a traitor. And the kiosks allow you to play a game to see how quick you are at identifying little details in various screens while testing your attention to detail. I was genuinely caught up in this unique full room game and slightly worried about my bad eyesight...

2. Lie Detector Test

Part of the museum was little enclosed booths - inside this dark room you were met with a screen that taught you a few key motions liars typically do. After learning about these little tactics, did you know liars blink a lot and tend to touch their faces ??, I was given a test to see who out of 4 questionees was a liar. I was able to detect 3/4 and liked this test because out of everything I learned in the museum, I mostly remembered the tidbits in this section.

Now you can't lie to me if you see me.

^ This won't be me.

3. Laser Room

As you can see from the thumbnail in the earlier video, this challenge to worm your way and avoid lasers is what we all imagine when we think of spy challenges.

You were timed to hit lit-up buttons lined up throughout the whole room while dodging the laser beams. Looking back on it now, I took this way too seriously - I literally slid on my knees and popped some squats but found this wasn't my calling after seeing my score.

But what I loved even more was when you exited the room and watched a TV screen outside of the room of the current room participants. A man actually lied down and slugged his way through... not sure why he thought this was effective, but if you need entertainment you get it.

Takeaway:

After an average run at the surveillance room, 80% accuracy in the lie detector test, labeled "quite risky" demeanor and 13/18 score for problem solving (had to include this one here because I was proud of this lil achievement), I was met with a tall screen in the final room. They listed off my 3 main attributes: analytical, inquisitive and determined. And from that was deemed an intelligence analyst, "an expert who gleans crucial insights from intelligence."

Given I've never seen myself as strongly the analyst type, this was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, I really really enjoyed my experience - I still remember when I left the museum, I essentially raved about it with a smile because it was so unlike any museum I had been to. Even though there's a steep $40 price tag for a museum that's objectively smaller than most in NYC, it's worth it to go if you've never been. You can tell that their simulations are not cheap and that they pay careful attention to curate a seamless, high-tech, aesthetic experience.

You can also come away with the creepy knowledge that you're being watched more than you ever thought.

#spy #spyscape #museum #nyc #newyork #interactive #exhibit #thingstodo #travel