Spyscape (styled in all caps) is a contemporary entertainment and education brand focused on secrets. Spyscape's physical HQ in New York City is a 60,000-square-foot interactive museum created by London-based private investment group Archimedia and designed by Sir David Adjaye. Spyscape HQ has seven main gallery zones: Encryption, which focuses on the cryptanalysts who cracked the German

Enigma machine The Enigma machine is a cipher device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II, in all branches of the W ...

in WWII; Deception, which takes visitors through the FBI's hunt for KGB mole

Robert Hanssen Robert Philip Hanssen (April 18, 1944 – June 5, 2023) was an American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States periodically from 1979 to 2001. His espionage w ...

; Surveillance, a 360-degree room that presents a closer look at

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. Born in 1983 in Elizabeth ...

; Hacking, highlighting the

Anonymous (group) Anonymous is a decentralized international Activism, activist and Hacktivism, hacktivist collective and Social movement, movement primarily known for its various cyberattacks against several governments, government institutions and Governmen ...

; Cyberwarfare, which focuses on

Stuxnet Stuxnet is a Malware, malicious computer worm first uncovered on June 17, 2010, and thought to have been in development since at least 2005. Stuxnet targets supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and is believed to be responsibl ...

; Special Ops, which focuses on WWII spy gadgets and SOE Officer

Virginia Hall Virginia Hall Goillot DSC, Croix de Guerre, (April 6, 1906 – July 8, 1982), code named Marie and Diane, was an American who worked with the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of Stra ...

; and Intelligence, which examines the how espionage and analysis shaped the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

. Visitors have the opportunity to test their own skills with various 'challenges' throughout the galleries - assessing traits from empathy and agility, to personality, brain power, and risk tolerance. The final gallery is Debrief, where visitors receive the results of their tests and challenges, and are assigned a spy role. 2024 saw Spyscape launch SPYGAMES - an all-new experience designed to activate visitors' mental and physical powers in active games designed with experts from CIA & Special Ops. The previous installation before SPYGAMES was Batman x Spyscape, an interactive adventure that tested visitors’ detective skills through a combination of a series of immersive physical spaces and a dedicated app for smartphones. 211217

''Driven: 007 x Spyscape'' was the first official

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

exhibit in New York City - opened between 2019 and 2022 in Spyscape's south gallery. The focal point of the exhibit is the actual

Aston Martin DB5 The Aston Martin DB5 is a British grand tourer (GT) produced by Aston Martin and designed by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Originally produced from 1963 to 1965, the DB5 was an evolution of the final ...

that was driven by

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

in the film ''

GoldenEye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...

''. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Spyscape made the ''007 x Spyscape'' exhibition available for free online following the temporary closure of the NYC venue. In April 2020, Spyscape launched a podcast network. The first show, ''True Spies'', narrated by

Hayley Atwell Hayley Elizabeth Atwell (born 5 April 1982) is an English and American actress. After appearing in various West End productions, Atwell gained popularity for her roles in period dramas, appearing in the films ''Brideshead Revisited'' (2008), '' ...

and

Vanessa Kirby Vanessa Nuala Kirby (born 18 April 1987 or 1988) is an English actress and producer. She rose to international prominence with her portrayal of Princess Margaret in the Netflix drama series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017), for which she won the Bri ...

, provides a unique insight into the world of secrets through interviews with professional spies. November 2022 saw Loki star

Sophia Di Martino Sophia Di Martino (born 15 November 1983) is an English actress known for portraying Sylvie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series ''Loki'' (2021–2023), which earned her two MTV Movie & TV Awards and a nomination for a Critics' ...

take over as host for the new series of ''True Spies'', with the new series launching with "The Bin Laden Files".

References

External links

* {{Museums in Manhattan 2018 establishments in New York City 2010s in Manhattan Eighth Avenue (Manhattan) Espionage museums History museums in New York City Midtown Manhattan Military and war museums in New York (state) Museums established in 2018 Museums in Manhattan