As you wander the pristine streets of Vienna in search of coffee and cake, the last thing you expect is a T-Rex with anger management issues. Unless you’re at IMMERSIUM:WIEN.
- Immersive exhibition experience
- Current theme: dinosaurs
- Interactive, multimedia fun (with some edutainment)
- Best suited to kids and families
- See also:
Dinosaurs and more
(Dinosaur training; press photo courtesy of and © IMMERSIUM:Wien)
Children these days appear strangely reluctant to engage with the creative evolution of modernist painters. Fortunately, IMMERSIUM:WIEN has something more appealing to offer the younger generation (and adults who still nurture their inner child)…
The location features an entertaining multimedia exhibition, and the current theme is that guaranteed family favourite: dinosaurs.
So say hello to Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops and their Jurassic colleagues.
Think experience more than exhibition, though: you walk through over 1,100 m2 of rooms & stations with each offering something interactive or immersive (or both).
But what does that actually involve?
(The main entrance)
I put on my safari hat and headed through to discover stations that varied from simple moving projections to full-blown 5D fun.
You could, for example:
- Hop from lily pad to lily pad avoiding the hungry jaws that popped up around you on the floor. Or match dance moves with a cartoon T-rex (I can’t confirm the scientific accuracy of this part)
- Interact with a screen velociraptor or excavate virtual dinosaur bones
- Get a downloadable photo with a T-Rex or take a selfie of yourself projected within a cartoonised dinoworld
- Watch a 15-minute immersive film surrounding you on all four sides with Jurassic scenes (commentary was in German, but not a real issue since it’s the images that entertain)
- Take a ride on a vehicle through an abandoned temple that led to some unanticipated encounters of the large reptilian kind
The moving ride platform and surrounding film created a genuine theme park experience and perhaps counts as IMMERSIUM:WIEN’s highlight (again, the German commentary took nothing away from the fun).
(Dancing with dinosaurs); press photo courtesy of and © IMMERSIUM:Wien)
Paid upgrades to a standard ticket include a 5-minute VR ride, a souvenir photo and similar, but I only had time for the basic walkthrough (I’d set aside a good hour for that).
As a fifty-something father of adults, I’m obviously not the core audience for the location. But kids in particular will absolutely love it.
As such, IMMERSIUM:WIEN makes a worthy addition to Vienna’s offerings for children and families.
Even I found myself waving furiously at a relatively benign velociraptor and smiling on the ride. Though I walked swiftly past the dance station (the sight of me dancing might have ruined the whole visit for innocent families).
Tickets and tips
A timeslot system operates to ensure smooth passage through the experience. Online tickets ensure you won’t have to wait for the next timeslot, but you can also buy tickets on site.
You’ll want to be free to move around comfortably, so I’d suggest putting bags and coats and similar in the lockers available in the entrance area (which also has a shop and access to a small café next door).
You actually find yourself in a bit of an immersive hotspot on the street hosting the attraction.
You have the Time Travel tour and Sisi’s Amazing Journey practically next door to IMMERSIUM:WIEN. So the kids can lose half a day with all the multimedia and VR fun around here. For more of that nature in Vienna, try these suggestions.
And if the kids have caught the dinosaur bug, your next stop could be the Naturhistorisches Museum: Vienna’s museum of natural history has a couple of galleries dedicated to the reptilian giants.
How to get to IMMERSIUM:WIEN
The dinosaurs roam right in the heart of Vienna, so you might pass nearby on a stroll through the pedestrianised centre.
Subway: the location lies between Herrengasse (U3) and Stephansplatz (U3 and U1) stations
Bus: the 1A and 2A old town buses both have stops close to here (get out at Habsburgergasse or Graben/Petersplatz)
Address: Habsburgergasse 10, 1010 Vienna | Website