I am a big fan of museums. I grew up near the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio and part of the year I live near the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. When I visit a new city I make sure to visit the all the oddball museums in addition to the typical art museums. Cleveland has a wonderful (and free) Art Museum. As far as oddball museums I have visited, if you are ever in Zagreb, Croatia visit the Museum of Broken Relationships.
Because I maze a lot of buildings, a few museums have made their way onto this site in maze form. Here are the museums I have mazed:
The University of Alaska Museum of the North
National Center For Civil and Human Rights
Plus I have 3 coming in the future !
Purpose of this post
Today I want to discuss a dream of mine, the creation of a maze museum. I have thought about this museum a lot and hope that some day it can become a reality. I have actually done a bit of research on creating one, and the cost of doing so is enormous. So, instead I am going to put my vision on paper to flush out the ideas.
Why create a maze museum
A maze museum would be an excellent visit. I will get into the vision I have below for the complex, but would you be interested in solving a hedge maze with friends ? What about solving timed mazes ? Seeing maze art ? I think this would be fun (I am biased), and as far as I can tell no museum exists today. Let’s look at some interesting museums around the world…if these subjects have museums, then I believe mazes can also.
The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Osaka, Japan
Derwent Pencil Museum - Cumbria, England
Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum - Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Iceland Phallological Museum - Reykjavik, Iceland
Sulabh International Museum of Toilets - New Delhi, India
National Poo Museum - Isle of Wight, England
Fill in your own commentary, especially on those last 3. Can you know that these museums exist and not bring them up in conversation ? I want to call someone right now just to discuss these 6 and I found even more interesting museums I did not list !! Museums for everyone !
SIMILAR maze museums CONCEPTS
There are a few places that have inspired me and I believe some of them could easily house a maze museum on their property. Let’s look at some of the places that have inspired me and why:
Loučeň Castle - Nymburk, Czechia. Not a castle I had heard of when I was visiting Czechia but I wish I had done more research because this castle has outstanding grounds ! What makes the grounds so special ? Well they feature 12 different garden labyrinths ! I use the word loosely as it is a combination of mazes and labyrinths. Here is the full list of garden mazes on the grounds: Royal labyrinth; Letter maze; Digital labyrinth; Sandstone maze; String maze; Stone labyrinth; Stockade labyrinth; Paved maze; Yew tree labyrinth; Grass maze; Light maze and the Box tree labyrinth. That seems like a full day or being lost to me ! The website does not share many pictures of them, but if you search on Google Maps (Zámek Loučeň) you can see a few on the satellite imagery view! Here is one I found:
Photo From www.czechcentres.czdd
Dole Plantation - Wahiawa, Hawaii. Known for it enormous Garden Maze, made from thousands of different native plants, the maze features a pineapple in the center ! Not the largest maze in the world (anymore), but close !
Flickr Dole Plantation: The Maze
Evionnaz Adventure Labyrinth - Evionnaz, Switzerland. A maze that has games and obstacles spread throughout to make it more fun and challenging ! It is like a mini amusement park focused on the hedge maze ! The other activities on site make it a great place to take the family ! And the location is in a valley between some beautiful Swiss Mountains !
from website of Evionnaz Adventure Labyrinth
Every art museum, but especially the modern art museums. You are on a website where I feature new maze art each and every Monday. There are dozens of other maze artists around the world, yet when I do a search for “Maze Art” this is what I find (not a lot of maze art, but some).
Museo Laberinto - It has the name correct ! Located in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, this museum is an interactive science, art and technology museum perfect for kids and young adults. An it does contain a very cool outdoor maze made of cacti !
Museo Laberinto cacti
And various other maze attractions around the world, from the hedge mazes and the labyrinths in churches around Europe to the mirror mazes in fun houses.
Possible museum grounds
The grounds feature a main building, designed by Adrian Fisher. Check out his website for some of the maze buildings he has designed! The internal structure of the building is mazelike, but not in a way that is meant to get you lost, but rather to get you in the frame of mind to experience the museum properly. There will be a few mazes indoors, but most will be outdoors.
Sections in the main building of the museum include:
History of Labyrinths and Mazes - showing how common they are around the world and in different cultures.
This includes re-creations of famous mazes and labyrinths like the Chartres Labyrinth in France and the Pompeii House of Labyrinth.
Modern maze usage - including funhouses and haunted houses. Includes a medium sized mirror maze to walk through.
Mazes in Movies - I have reviews for over 70 movies that feature labyrinths and mazes in the movie. This can be explored in a short film speaking about their place in movies. Includes a screening room.
Maze Art - My favorite part and the main section of the museum. Featuring maze artists from all over the world. For me this is the focus (maybe not for visitors).
The Blind Maze - a short maze in a completely blacked out room that is solved by guiding yourself by touch through the maze without your use of sight !
Indoor Kids Maze - with short walls so parents can see the children as they traverse the maze. Also needed for rainy days when outdoor mazes are less desirable to walk.
Laser Maze Challenge - Do your best impression of Catherine Zeta-Jones in the movie Entrapment. Can you get through the maze without setting off the alarm ?
Interactive zone of tables and chairs where you can design your own maze or solve the mazes provided. Also maze games like the tilted ball maze are available, which are also for sale in the….
Gift Shop - it’s a museum. Selling maze art, maze books, maze games, etc.
A maze or labyrinth on the roof !
I used Starryai to generate a few images of what the museum may look like ! The final image is from Stable Diffusion.
The Museum Grounds:
The grounds surround the main building and feature a variety of different mazes and labyrinths to walk/solve. Each has an explanation. Here are the featured mazes:
Classical Labyrinth - Possibly a very large one...maybe even the largest in the world.
Circular Labyrinth - Medium sized and used for meditation
Square Labyrinth - Might as well.
Stone Labyrinth - Classical shape.
Hedge Maze - This will take awhile to grow but will be worth it. Center will lead to a central tower. The tower allows you to overlook all the grounds and see the labyrinths and mazes from above !!
Color maze - a tile maze where you move based on rules to solve it. Appropriate for most ages.
Arrow Maze - could also be inside. Solved by walking on the tiles.
Tile Maze or Labyrinth - a maze/labyrinth made from tiles that can be walked on to solve/meditate
Wooden Panel Maze - this maze is able to change daily with a few moveable wooden doors giving it flexibility.
Water Maze - Water shoots into the air to create “walls”. You can cheat the maze but you will get wet !!! Center goal is a large fountain.
Pipe Maze !!! - One of my favorite mazes that I make is the pipe maze. I think this can be done in real life. Imagine a place where you stand and choose one of 10 interconnected pipe handles with 2 spouts. You look at the pipes and try to figure out which handle leads to the goal. The other 9 all turn on the spout above your head !!!
I used Stable Diffusion and Starryai to create some images of what it might look like
The grounds for this museum are quite large and take quite a bit of daily groundskeeping work. By my count we have 11 outdoor mazes or labyrinths and 5 indoor (includes the walkable Chartres replica). We have many physical and mental challenges, things to learn and beautiful things to look at. We have indoor and outdoor zones that are both interactive. That makes a nice museum.
Things to be determined:
Location. Near or in a large or medium city that attracts tourists. There is not a specific location that screams “put it here” to me. As I mentioned above an existing site could be expanded to add a museum to the grounds. That will be the most viable to get the full vision created.
POSSIBLE museum map
Here is a hypothetical map of the Museum: Mazes are not actual designs but only placeholders. I did not show the roof which ideally contains a labyrinth.
I don’t know if I will be able to make this happen. But maybe someday I can open an art gallery and feature all the great maze artists. If there is an idea I want taken from me and done - take this one !!! I will gladly donate some artwork and will be a frequent visitor.