Sometimes, it pays to do things blindly.
Entering the House of Eternal Return at the Meow Wolf Art Complex in Santa Fe is one of those things.
Prior to traveling to New Mexico’s capital city, I had little clue about what to do and see there. But I’d been told by a couple of people to check out Meow Wolf. One guy said that first-timers there don’t shut up about how cool it is.
If that was the case, then I definitely had to go see it.
Meow Wolf is an arts production company and its website describes the House of Eternal Return as a combination of a jungle gym, haunted house, children’s museum and immersive art exhibit.
I’d describe it as mind blowingly amazing.
I made my way there on a weekday evening, unsure of what I was walking into. It looked pretty dull on the outside and I thought it might be a neon museum of some sort. But the exterior is definitely deceiving because it’s so much more than that.
The first thing you’ll see when you enter the House of Eternal Return is a two-story Victorian home that belongs to the fictitious Selig family. The exhibit is based on a narrative created by the artists who put everything together. An Ars Technica article provides more context about the concept behind this, saying that the Seligs are part of a group called Bloodline, a chaotic and creative force in the universe. This group is at odds with another, called Charter, which wants to maintain rational structures.
The House of Eternal Return is at the center of the clash between chaos and order.
When you walk through the door of the house, you’ll immediately see the rooms you normally find in a home: a living room, dining room, bedrooms, etc.
And then somehow, you’ll find yourself in a place where you can make music by hitting the skeleton of some sort of animal.
Or in an icebox that’s actually an infinity room.
The whole place is insane! And I mean that in a good way. By being in the interactive exhibit, where you can touch things, climb stairs, and walk into a real trailer, you’ll be forced to think outside the box. Things that seem ordinary, like a refrigerator and a washing machine, will propel you into unexpected places if you approach them as if they’re more than just household appliances. You’ll notice that seemingly ordinary doors lead to unexpected dimensions.
After having explored the space for several minutes, I began to learn that every door and crevice almost always led to more fascinating areas.
Trippy smoke room
I don’t want to give too much away here because I’m glad I had no idea what the heck was going to happen before I came here. If you’re planning on going, I don’t want this blog to be the source that ruins the whole surprise.
All I’ll say is that no matter how old you are, you are bound to enjoy the House of Eternal Return!
Admission to the House of Eternal Return is $18 for adults if you’re not a New Mexico resident. Plus tax, that comes out to $19.50. Before entering the exhibit, I was disappointed with the steep price tag. But after a spending about an hour and a half in there, I completely changed my mind. You get your money’s worth in there.
If you’re planning a first-time trip to Santa Fe and haven’t done much research yet on things to do and see there, don’t do research on Meow Wolf! Specifically, don’t invest any of your time perusing photos of the exhibit on social media or on the web. It can be refreshing to experience amazing things without knowing everything about it.
If you don’t expect to go to Santa Fe at any point in your life, or if you’ve already been to Meow Wolf, then you can click below to see additional photos of this amazing, interactive exhibit. (If you’re one of those people planning a trip, I strongly urge you to resist clicking on this link! You’ll be grateful you didn’t once you experience the awesomeness of Meow Wolf.)