In my opinion, Disney doesn’t have anything on Meow Wolf.
Because to me, Meow Wolf is Disney for adults (and sure, there are kids at these things). But the addition of immersive storylines on top of all the playful, interactive setups are engaging as heck– so while the surface-level wandering through Meow Wolf spaces is amazing– the stories are what sticks.
And each Meow Wolf location has a very unique theme and storyline to explore. And I do mean explore– a day at Meow Wolf can mean running up and down stairwells for clues, ‘booping’ digital devices to see video components of a mystery, or trying to fight the evil corporation trying to take over the world!
I’ve now been lucky enough to go to all three Meow Wolf installations– in Santa Fe, Denver, and Las Vegas (the latter of which I visited this spring).
If you’re not familiar with it, Meow Wolf was founded as an artist collective back in 2008. Originally, it was intended to be a local performance venue for artists in the Santa Fe area, but their early immersive art installations were so wildly successful, they grew their reputation and eventually scaled up.
What does an “immersive art installation” in Meow Wolf’s style look like? Well, I’ll post some images from each city below to show you just how absolutely, mind-blowingly, world-creating these artists are.
First up: Santa Fe.
There is a permanent install of a huge home here– and you see the front side as you enter the massive space (see the first image in the collage). But like everything at Meow Wolf, what you see is only the beginning– and the majority of the experience is behind the scenes.
Meow Wolf constantly plays with the idea of multiple worlds, universes, and time tracks — so the “behind the scenes” bit I referenced above is usually some alternate reality. In that alternate reality, there is typically some kind of mystery or quest, that you need to solve.
In Santa Fe, a family has up and disappeared out of the blue– and you can comb through their residence and the portals in it to the ‘other world’ to find clues about where they went.
If the clues and storylines seem too involved to you– no worries, there are sights and sounds aplenty to keep you busy just bouncing from activity to activity. A “pro tip” from me– the storylines are easier to track and solve when there aren’t a ton of people around, and that’s REALLY hard to achieve, since Meow Wolf is so popular. If you can, try to go on a weekday– and RIGHT when they open is the best time to get your bearings before subsequent crowds are let in. When they are full, it can be chaotic as heck.
I won’t give away any of the quests or the solutions that come with them– but also, one more tip– if you get ‘stuck’– the Meow Wolf crew are usually around to answer questions and get you back on track.
Now, for Meow Wolf Las Vegas– otherwise known as: Omega Mart.
Omega Mart is a clever, ‘functioning’ supermarket– nearly all of the spoof “products” are for sale. From fake bleach to deodorant to cereal to slurpees, Omega Mart has it all. And the labels themselves are right out of an SNL product sketch, like CRISPR Crunch, a genetically-modified cereal. (Get it, CRISPR?).
And Camel’s Meat Substitute. (Dark).
And while you could spend all day reading fake ingredient lists and spoof labels, there’s a story that needs you. You begin your day as a regular employee of Omega Mart, clocking in to start your shift– and that’s when the storyline begins to draw you into the alternate world.
In this case, that alternate world is the corporate offices of Omega Mart, which features a very ambitious CEO and his daughter, who assumes the chairmanship of Omega Mart after her father vanishes. Needless to say, there’s a lot of investigation to be done to get to the bottom of this one.
The investigations (if you want to crack the case) take about 2-3 hours to solve. The pathway for these clues is a clever card system that Meow Wolf developed– you simply “boop” (hold gentle) your card on designated areas to dive deeper into the mysteries.
Last but not least, was Denver– also known as “Convergence Station”.
I could not have captured Denver’s scale with my camera if I tried. Meow Wolf’s largest structure, Denver occupies an entire 4-story building, which means you’ll be taking the elevator a bunch as you try to solve the mystery. When I say the photos don’t do it justice at all, I mean it.
Why are my photos of this experience in Denver’s Meow Wolf so substandard? Because I was totally engrossed in the story, and forgot entirely to take pictures. If that doesn’t tell you how wild and wooly the Denver story is, nothing will. With MULTIPLE different universes to explore, it’s a real one.
If you are in Denver, Santa Fe, or Las Vegas– you have unequivocally GOT to go to Meow Wolf. One of my favorite things about this organization is that it is artist-created and artist-led. It employs hundreds and hundreds of working artists, helping them continue their art by drawing a solid paycheck.
Meow Wolf is also a Certified B-Corp, meaning it has to meet both social and environmental standards for how it conducts itself. This is a business you will want to support– and though the ticket prices are a bit high, you can know your money is going to artists and creators, instead of giant conglomerates.
It’s truly one of the best ways to spend half a day, so check it out.
Posted by Sun
