{"id":128740,"date":"2026-02-10T13:29:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T13:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/128740\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T13:29:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T13:29:06","slug":"spend-a-real-life-night-at-the-museum-in-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/128740\/","title":{"rendered":"Spend a real-life ‘Night at the Museum’ in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 2006 movie \u201cNight at the Museum<\/a>,\u201d Ben Stiller played a security guard who discovers that everything in the American Museum of Natural History \u2014 from the T-Rex to Attila the Hun \u2014 comes alive at night. <\/p>\n

For the film\u2019s premiere, children were invited to actually spend the night when, it is assumed, the dinosaurs and everything else remained safely frozen in time. But museum officials recognized a good idea, and initiated monthly overnights, inviting children (along with their parental chaperones) to explore the museum after hours. <\/p>\n

The program was a huge success, said Aaron Anleu, senior director of visitor services, running strong until the pandemic prompted\u00a0a halt in 2020. Late last year, the museum decided it was time to resume the events, with sleepovers now scheduled once a month \u2014 and selling out almost as soon as reservations open (for the April-June nights, reservations open for member presale on Feb. 24 and the general public March 3). <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a unique experience,\u201d Anleu said. \u201cHaving the museum to yourself outside of the normal hours really broadens your imagination.\u201d <\/p>\n

The evening, geared to children ages 6 to 12, starts at 6 p.m. when the 400 guests arrive, stash their belongings on their cots and get flashlights so they can start exploring. Activities happen throughout the museum, dimly lit to enhance the experience. Visitors might come across a live animal demonstration or play games like trivia and bingo. Craft projects (think dinosaur hats and crowns) take place all over the museum, and a scavenger hunt is a highlight, as guests roam the building in search of things like a certain tiger. <\/p>\n

At the end of the evening, everyone gathers under the iconic blue whale, where someone reads the original book on which the film was based. <\/p>\n

Does anyone actually sleep? \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d said Anleu. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing spooky\u201d about the evening, he said. \u201cSurprisingly, after lights out at midnight, it only takes a few minutes.\u201d <\/p>\n

The kids love it, Anleu added, but perhaps not as much as their parents. \u201cThere\u2019s minimal screentime throughout the night,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

A Night at the Museum: The Overnight Experience<\/p>\n

Reservations for April 10, May 22, June 5 open for member presale on Feb. 24 and to the general public on March 3, both at 10:30 a.m.; 212-769-5100, amnh.org<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s included<\/p>\n

A cot, guests should bring sleeping bags, pillows and warm sleepwear<\/p>\n

Bedtime snacks and a light breakfast<\/p>\n

A commemorative keepsake<\/p>\n

A voucher for future admission<\/p>\n

Cost<\/p>\n

$225 per person, one adult required per five children ages 8-12; one adult per child required for children ages 6-7 (children under 6 not permitted.)<\/p>\n

Add-on<\/p>\n

A message can be digitally displayed until \u201clights out\u201d in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the 2006 movie \u201cNight at the Museum,\u201d Ben Stiller played a security guard who discovers that everything…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[42495,33204,75,84,83,9,24,63,904],"class_list":{"0":"post-128740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-lilife","9":"tag-litravel","10":"tag-manhattan","11":"tag-manhattan-headlines","12":"tag-manhattan-news","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}