New York City's Once-Viral Immersive Attraction That's Still Worth A Visit Today

Viral sensations, per their nature, tend to blow up one day and disappear the next. As one old British saying goes: "Today's news is tomorrow's chip paper." This applies to attractions as much as it does to celebrity news, events, and scandals. Once-famous attractions have even disappeared entirely, such as Dublin Writers Museum in Ireland and The Underground Museum in Los Angeles. However, one previously viral immersive attraction in New York City has done anything but vanish, and it still warrants a visit today. Mercer Labs, an interactive art and technology museum that opened right on Valentine's Day in 2024, was the key talking point in numerous viral TikTok videos throughout 2025. Prominent publications like Time Out, Downtown Alliance, and Dwell have also covered its emergence in the NYC museum scene.

Many people have gravitated toward the attraction for its selfie opportunities, as highlighted in some TikToks. CNET's official TikTok account even posted a video showcasing Mercer Labs' temporary exhibition of a popular manga and anime series, One Piece. The hype was, as they say, real. Although the explosive interest has died down since 2025, Mercer Labs remains a worthwhile visit today, provided you approach it as an immersive experience rather than as a traditional museum.

One user on the r/AskNYC subreddit called it a "glorified light show" that serves more so as TikTok or Instagram material than as a bona fide artistic experience. However, another said they'd "found value in Mercer Labs" and had never seen so many "[full-room] visual and audio experiences" before. Writer Will Allstetter, who covered Mercer Labs for Dwell in December 2024, called it "an architectural and technological feat" that "fails as a museum but does immersion well." While it's not a typical museum experience, Mercer Labs can be enjoyed as its own unique offering by anyone interested in new media installations.

If you enjoy exploring immersive exhibits that leverage technology like LEDs and projection mapping to create otherworldly environments, Mercer Labs is absolutely worth a visit. The Met may be the most-visited museum in the U.S., but you can't necessarily interact with the art on display there. Meanwhile, Mercer Labs boasts 15 installations with distinct sensory features whose effects hinge on human interaction. You can sit in a cave constructed out of pink hydrangeas, float in a ball pond, witness light transformations across a table canvas that responds to touch, and draw virtual creatures that you can get scanned and projected onto physical space.

While the Mercer Labs hype is no longer at its peak, interest is still very much alive. Some 2026 TikTok videos of its exhibits have amassed hundreds and thousands of likes, and one even surpassed 170,000 likes. People remain enamored with its light-based installations, 360-degree cinematic projections, robotic art, body-shifting soundscapes, and overall playful approach to new media art. The museum's temporary exhibitions also continuously land it on NYC sightseeing lists. In late 2025, Time Out ranked Maestros & the Machines (which is still on view, as of this writing) as the fifth most incredible immersive experience in the city. The exhibit includes interactive interpretations of seminal works by some of the art world's great masters, including Monet, Da Vinci, Beethoven, Mozart, Hokusai, and Michelangelo.

Mercer Labs is in New York's Financial District, which also has one of New York's most underrated dining scenes. At $52 for adults or $46 for children aged 4 to 17, general admission tickets get you access to all exhibits. You can expect to spend between 60 and 90 minutes exploring everything Mercer Labs has on offer. While many museums are home to more traditional cafes, Mercer Labs has The Taste Lab, where you can buy seltzers, beer, wine, jello shots, and several flavors of mochi. Those who enjoy interactive experiences should also check out Manhattan's RiseNY, an immersive adventure that doubles as a museum and a thrill ride.