The Easter holidays are very nearly over. We haven’t exactly made the most of the time off school, as both kids were poorly at different times but we’ve managed to squeeze some fun in along the way. Today, in the dying hours of the holidays, we revisited the Twist Museum which we last went to in 2023 and happy to report back that the kids enjoyed it just as much as last time.
First tho, I had to get there. Being the kind of person who likes to fit a lot into a bank holiday, I’d gone on a walk around Chingford Plain with church people and was still in the middle of nowhere 1 hour 15 before we were due to be at Twist. Somehow I managed to get back to Chingford station, meet Nathan and the kids on the train and get to Oxford Circus right on time. Looking somewhat dishevelled and forest-strewn but I was there.
After putting out stuff in the lockers, we went through the gateway to the museum, which has had something of a facelift since our last visit:
The first room was the yellow room, where you could see the effect of light on how we perceive colour…these umbrellas went from greyscale to multi-coloured as the light changed:
That’s not one of my kids in the foreground by the way – if only they were still that wee. No, my kid was trying to work out the physics of how it all worked:
The Twist Museum is a mix of big set pieces, like this yellow room, and smaller illusions on the wall. We looked at pretty much everything, even though there were some that the kids were familiar with already, like the parallel lines:
And the bunny/bird illusion:
There are also lots of things which aren’t illusions as such, but more like pretty photo opportunities. Eva christened this one “The Schuyler Sisters” as it was pink, yellow and blue:
There were some new bits in the next room I think – the human kaleidoscope was still there:
But I don’t remember the smaller kaleidoscopes that you put your face into, which creates this world of a thousand Evas:
More Evas is exactly what we need in this family. There were also the kind of video screens that follow your movements and overlay cool effects but I did not get a great photo of these, probably because we were in motion all the time:
By the way, if you’re wondering what Eva’s look is, it’s “business whimsy”. Ask no more questions. Tho this illusion shows you what meetings would look like if everyone in the team followed the business-whimsy dress code:
Oh, and had sinister brothers creeping up to attack them. I also got an insight into how Nathan would look as a Cerberus:
Kinda spaniel-y tbh.
The most popular rooms were the height illusions, which I probably shared last time but the kids have grown since then so here’s the 2025 version:
And all three takes of the chair illusion:
There was also a “skull-illusion” painting by Holbein which made Eva burst into a song from “Six”:
Honestly, any excuse to bring musical theatre into a day out. Earlier, she’d tested the acoustics of the Falling Up Room by singing Les Mis in there:
There were two things which were definitely new since our last visit. The first was the hollow mask illusion booth. You sat in a chair and tried not to blink as your face was scanned (a fail on Reuben’s part, which is shocking as he was wearing the Dr Who t-shirt) and then the booth produced a 3D hologram of you with a hollow face:
The actual illusion is hard to explain and also hard to capture on camera but even just the holographic selves are pretty cool. They first appear on the screen, where you get the option to have the illusion sent to you via e-mail:
And then appear in these little prisms, in true “help me Obi Wan Kenobi” style:
If you’re wondering, I did try to share my own holo-hollow face video directly into this post but I probably need to run an WordPress upgrade to make it work. I apologise for the usual LWAT levels of techfail.
The other bit that was definitely new was the last thing we came to – the Colour Flip room. Would you buy a monochrome latte from this barista?:
There were a few ways to capture the surreality of this room but hopefully this angle gives you a good idea:
So I’ve really just skimmed the surface of what there was to do in this space – there were so many more illusions that I haven’t shared pictures of so as not to spoil the surprise for when you go there. We were in the exhibition for an hour or so and only left because Eva was overheating in all those business layers. We probably could have spent longer. Afterwards, the boys headed home and Eva and I went for fries but not before posing herself on a tiny plinth on the corner of Oxford Circus:
It was hammering it down when by the time we’d finished eating, so we ducked into a shop where Oasis used to be. It’s called Sostrene Grenes and, as Eva said, it’s the most cozy little place. It’s not actually little at all but it is cozy and has some very reasonably priced pretty stuff:
Also, Eva’s flower crown fit right in with the decor:
Before anyone starts on “the yoof of today, always on their phones”, let me tell you that she was texting her BFF with a list of the loose leaf teas available in the shop to see which ones to buy them. Her BFF didn’t respond in time so we had to leave and come back once I’d sent the same list to BFF’s mum but still…
Yes, that is a loose leaf tea pick n mix. It truly is a charming place. It also had a colouring table and a sensory room, so we were there for ages and I was lucky to only have to spend £20 or so on beads, the tea, elastic, strawberry-flavoured dried apple slices and some watercolours. Eva ideally wanted to buy the whole shop.
So yes, school tomorrow but I like to think we’ve given the holidays a good send off. Bring on the summer, hey?
Twist Museum is on Oxford Street and the nearest tube is Oxford Circus. Click here for tickets and more info.
Disclaimer: I received free tickets in exchange for a review. All opinions remain honest and my own.
