Hands-on Museum of Espionage
Upon entering New York City’s SPYSCAPE, the first of its kind spy-themed museum, mystery was in the air. Indeed, intrigue is the core of the concept of the high-tech interactive immersion experience into the world of espionage.
Adding to the mystique of New York City’s diverse landscape, architect David Adjaye’s new mid-town structure is imposing and sleek. Checking in to the mod space, the atmospheric lighting illuminated stark monotones as glowing electric blue letters flashed across monitors.
With microchip I.D.s soon attached to our wrists, my friend, Bill, and I scanned our identities and submitted some stats as the monolithic kiosks flashed our instructions. Then we were directed into the massive nearly pitch-black glass-encased elevator that descended.
A Bond Movie
The doors closed behind us as a narrative voiced by a British woman who could have come fresh of the set of a Bond movie began to provoke paranoia with images. Illuminating facts about the real-life elements of espionage and personal privacy collection by governments and certain corporate oligarchs roused us.
After our eye-popping ride, we exited into the maze of elaborate, highly interactive, and ambient sections that would use analytical tools designed to evaluate exactly what kind of the 10 spy profiles we each would match.
“SPYSCAPE provides a wonderfully creative, interactive, and stimulating experience that imparts tremendous insights into the conduct of spycraft and intelligence operations.” General David Petraeus (US Army, Ret.), Former commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and coalition forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA remarked, giving a bit more weight to the thought that went into creating the experience.
The Mission: Complete your Encryption skills. Can you keep a secret or decipher one to save a life? Then head into Deception – How well can you detect a lie – or are you as covert as you think? Then off to test your 360-degree Surveillance and the laser tunnel skills where you will be watched by voyeurs outside.
And in between these challenges, the kiosks engage in testing brainpower, risk-taking, and math skills among other rousing questions that might have one scratching your head and some kids exclaiming, “So cool!”
Alan Turing Code
The informative and historical aspects of the museum educate about actual espionage-centric events. Among intelligence agents highlighted are Alan Turing who decoded the Nazi spy encryption that was instrumental in ending WWII, thanks to his decoding invention, ‘Bombe’. Costumes and coding machines are also displayed throughout the floor plan.
We learned about the teenager who broke into the CIA’s website, and infamous spy Virginal Hall, among others.
Debrief
After an afternoon of diversion and mystery, we found ourselves standing inside the debrief room swiping our microchips for some personal discovery. Our respective test results appeared in animated text on screen, revealing our personal algorithms and analysis.
Maybe you’ll find your top qualities are Mathematics, Independence, and Perfectionism with a knack for observation, agility and calculated risks? Then you’d be in good company as a Cryptologist with yours truly.
But most importantly, are you inquisitive enough to find out just what kind of spy you or the other guy watching you might be?
SPYSCAPE is developed and funded by private investment group Archimedia, whose other investments include spy-themed television and film projects, including John Le Carré’s The Night Manager and A Most Wanted Man.
SPYSCAPE, 928 8th Ave, New York, NY 10019; +1 212-549-1941
