MENTOR, Ohio — A new attraction gives visitors the chance to experience locations around the world and universe without ever leaving Ohio.
Wonder Cleveland is an adventure museum that helps people change the way they think about the empty space in shopping malls. The interactive exhibits located inside Great Lakes Mall in Mentor provide opportunities to visit far-off lands and do back-to-school shopping at the same place.
Inside, eight different immersive environments allow guests in a former H&M store to be transported elsewhere.
“Take a mini vacation here,” said Jason Percival while lounging on a beach chair in front of a giant screen showing sand and waves.
Percival helped hand-make everything for this adventure through time and space.
“It’s just a bunch of mirrors and it’s really fun to, like, stick your face in it,” said Morgan Perdziak. She and her friends were taking some time to explore each of the exhibits.
The space-themed area allowed the teens to pose for pictures with an alien and use their motion to cast figures onto a screen flying through the stars.
“You definitely get the ‘wonder’ in the title ‘Wonder Cleveland,’” said Clint Zupanc while taking in all the detail of the exhibit.
Technology puts guests into the exhibits, allowing you to feel like you’re somewhere else.
“We need it to be as immersive as possible, so we don’t want you to feel like you’re on planet earth. We don’t want you to feel like you’re in Ohio or even Cleveland until you’re getting your selfies,” said Percival.
Several selfie stations give a nod to Cleveland and its landmarks, including the skyline and West Side Market, where the pose makes it appear as if you’re flying overhead.
But, it’s the poses with things from your imagination, the augmented reality, that really left an impact on Zupanc.
“Like, I’ve never seen a monkey in my life and I got to hold one, so that’s been really, really cool,” he said.
Ian Gaspersic was excited to step into his favorite movies.
“I came in here not knowing what to expect, and I saw the rope course and I instantly thought of ‘Indiana Jones,’ which I loved growing up as a child,” he said. “So, this is very exciting for me.”
Reliving childhood is a major theme of Wonder Cleveland, as a section of the space invites guests to dive into the nostalgia of Legos, building a bridge between the hands-on toys from yesteryear and modern hands-free motion-activated gaming.
“For the people who come in and are lighthearted like that and know this is going to be a silly, fun environment, oh gosh, it is so good to see those people come to life,” said Percival.
The exhibits also help bring new life to a vacant storefront in the shopping center.
“Retail is great, it’s awesome,” said Percival. “Shoe shopping, clothing, all of that is great. But this kind of stuff, live events, concerts, experiential museums, we kind of think that’s the next trend that’s coming around for this space.”
The space invites the young and young-at-heart the chance to break away from reality for a little fun.
The creators plan to change the displays seasonally and hope to add space for more environments in the future.
For more information, visit wondercleveland.com.
