This actually sounds kind of fun; if the International Spy Museum wasn't in D.C. I'd probably plunk down the $14 to go play Jane Bond in their new exhibit. However, I do need to point out the nearly-obscene irony that it's a "let's play spy" (and find WMD's) feature as reported by the Washington Post. Did the staff have to play Valerie Plame when they went on the field trip? Anyway... Snip:
With its emphasis on hands-on activities, the Spy Museum -- one of the city's most popular tourist attractions -- seeks to draw, in part, a Disney-park audience. Since its opening in 2002, the museum has drawn more than 3.5 million visitors.Link."Operation Spy" cost between $1.5 million and $2 million to create, Abrell says.
During the one-hour virtual-world "mission," museum-goers get to maneuver hidden cameras and fiddle with recording devices. Visitors are on their feet nearly that entire time, at one point tiptoeing through a creepy, dark tunnel created by the exhibit designers, and later ransacking an authentic-looking office of a "foreign government official." The mission takes place within the confines of the Spy Museum at 800 F St. NW. "It takes interactivity one step further," said Peter Earnest, the museum's executive director. "There's more of a visceral feel than just looking at stuff on a display case."
"Operation Spy" was scheduled to open in June, but glitches throughout the summer delayed the opening. "There's a number of moving parts," Earnest said. "A lot of synchronizing and special effects."
"Operation Spy" has its share of effects, but a promotional video running on the museum's Web site might oversell the experience with its claim: "Like the most intense movie you've ever seen -- except you are in it."
Earnest also boasted: "It's sort of what it feels like to be in '24,' " referring to Fox's hit show.
Image: Modesty Blaise, as played by Monica Vitti in 1966 (via).
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