Camera Obscura and World of Illusions

We visited here due to the adverse weather and following positive reviews we thought we would give it a shot. However we were left heavily disappointed. Despite a couple of highlights in terms of the tunnel and the camera obscura, the rest was overcrowded and many of the exhibits were well worn. As much as it offers a couple of unique experiences, it is not worth the entry price. I fell going forward they need to put in place timed entry to allow people to get the most out of the exhibits.

If you have kids who like problem solving, trying things out and love science museums, they will really enjoy it here. It is quite pricey and I recommend showing your Scot Rail ticket if you have one to get a discount.

There are a few floors of fun and your inner child can come out, so that you can be as one with the kids who love this place. There is even something for teens here, as there is a great deal to see and do.

Plenty of photo ops here and a really dramatic view of Edinburgh from the top. I prefer the Science museums as this did remind of the Ripley I can't Believe it attractions at times.

But my nephews had an absolute blast and that's what is about. They had enough to do to stop them reaching for their phone and that is some compliment! 😁

We secured a last minute booking for entry a few hours before our train home.
Obviously, we were disappointed that the demonstration of the camera obscura was cancelled due to COVID restrictions, but needs must in these strange times and we were aware of this before booking, as it is mentioned in prominent view on the website.
The rest of the building was open however and we were very pleasantly surprised at how many of the illusions and exhibits remained open. There was an easy-to-follow one way system in place, which led you to the third floor and then up and around the rest of the building, following the exhibits.
The rooftop views are spectacular all around and the illusions and interactive exhibits all the way down are mind boggling.
Despite the amount of hands on stuff on display, there were plenty of sanitiser stands and we passed staff who were disinfecting surfaces on every single floor, so their cleaning regime is clearly very good.
I would also recommend going earlier in the day if you wish to avoid crowds and make social distancing that bit easier for yourself: we managed to sneak a 9:15 booking on the day, but prior to that we had been hard pressed to get bookings for 2 people after 12pm.
There is a locked cupboard where staff will le you deposit bags or luggage and there are toilets, but these are located right at the start, so use them first or lose them. There are no catering facilities in the building itself, but you’re pretty spoilt for choice in the area around.
We spent about 2hrs here, which was the perfect amount of time to enjoy some mind bending nonsense on a Sunday morning.

We’ll be back soon and can’t wait to see the camera demonstrations back up and running.

Starting on the top floor there are amazing views of Edinburgh, especially the sunset allowed us to see the city in the light and dark. The small show, done by Blaine, was very entertaining and informative as to the camera obscura. Working your way down the building there are plenty of optical illusions, most of which you can interact with, a very fun day for people of all ages. Only negative was when we went it was incredibly busy making stairways difficult and meaning a short queue before being able to interact with the exhibits.

We visited here with out 6 year old son. There was quite a long queue outside but it went down very quickly. We were disappointed to be told by an employee that the show at the top was sold out. Having been before we knew our son would love this and had already told him all about it so were quite disappointed but decided to carry on in anyway. There are several floors of amazing illusions and all very hands-on exhibits and my son loved all of them. Some of them he didn't quite understand but they are interesting to adults and he liked looking at them anyway. When we got to the top the lady doing the show said anyone who didn't have tickets for that show could wait to see if there were any spaces and there were loads so we got to see the show anyway, which was fantastic. They were offering you to come back the next day to see the show or to get 20% off entry as the show was fully booked so I felt bad as we had had 20% off our ticket price but, it was their mistake. I just hope too many people didn't leave and not bother going in as they thought they wouldn't see the show. The next showing after ours was the same and basically, there seemed to be lots of spaces left at every time so not sure what went on there. Our son loves a gift shop and I was glad to see everything was good quality and quite reasonably priced apart from the sweets! My husband thought we'd be in there an hour, it was more like 3! Fantastic fun.

There is nothing wrong with the Camera Obscura, it is just way over priced for simple illusions that you will find at any science museum all over the world. The displays have not kept up with the times. Minds are no longer amazed by color tricks, size manipulations and carnival mirrors. You've seen this all before. At the steep price, this is something that can easily be taken off a must do list.

In contrast, the National Museum of Scotland is large with a sizeable kids' area filled with displays much more current and interesting than can be found at camera Obscura. Best of all, the museum is free and easily reached by foot or on one of the many hop on hop off buses.

We visited late as there was a line out of the door.

Pros: A lot to look at, particularly for children. Excellent light displays and the mirror maze is very cool. Camera Obscura very good and the staff very enthusiastic and polite - allowed us two days for the price of one due to fading light for Camera Obscura.

Cons: It is a small building and is compact - the 6 floors are very busy and full with lots to look at. Stairs a bit dodgy and no one way system due to the building, which meant a lot of traffic. Difficult to have a go at much due to numbers not being limited. Seems very expensive for what you get for your money.

A great activity during our stay in Edinburgh (and we were 2 adults without children!)
We went in the evening to try and miss queues but this means you miss the show by the camera obscura.
Lots of mind boggling and fun activities with the highlight being the best maze we’ve probably ever tried!
There was a very friendly member of staff who welcomed us, a kind Scottish man in a kilt.
Every time we walked past there was a long queue so I’d recommend booking tickets online beforehand to save the queue time.

Visited on a Saturday afternoon in March. It is quite costly at £16 each but there is quite a lot to see for the price and it also includes a small show from the top floor observatory.
Each floor has a small museum space with different themes/activities. These include things like; a mirror maze, a very fun if not a bit crazy tunnel thing and lots of other smaller attractions. There is lots of hands on attractions but at this time and during the current coronavirus crisis it was very good that there was lots and hand sanitizer stations.
There are lots of steps and no lift this is something to be aware of.
You get a time slot for the observatory show which gives excellent views of Edinburgh especially the nearby castle, our host was very entertaining and new a lot of interesting information, neat the show there is an outdoor roof space with amazing views all across Edinburgh well worth a look.
The combination of all of the above make it a very good museum.

We were a reasonably large group with kids age ranged from 9-16. The exhibits were great, keeping all ages intrigued and interested. Despite it being overcast the camera obscura was really good and the chap presenting (Blaine) was very engaging, amusing and informative! We had to leave briefly to go to the castle to see the 1pm gun and then did a tour and we were able to return to Camera Obscura and spend a further 2 hours enjoying the exhibits. I do have to say though, after reading a number of the 1 star reviews here you’d have to be a misery guts to leave anything lower than a 4 star review ! 😂 Keep up the great work Camera Obscura!! ❤️