Museum night: how in the USA children are introduced to science using non-standard methods

If on a summer Friday evening you suddenly find yourself near the Museum of Natural History in Washington, you will see a strange picture: adults and children, loaded with huge bales, from which pillows and mattresses are peeking out, are walking towards the entrance, writes Ksenia Turkova in her column for “VOA«.

Фото: Depositphotos

It's seven o'clock in the evening, the museum has closed, but the flow of mysterious visitors does not stop. One, two, three, four... - you can count at least a hundred children!

All of them are participants in the “Night at the Museum” event. The Smithsonian Museums host these sleepovers every summer on Fridays. You can spend the night at the National Gallery, the Space Museum and the Museum of American History, but the favorite, of course, is the Museum of Natural History: even adults want to turn into the character of actor Ben Stiller from the movie “Night at the Museum” for at least one night and try to sleep next to dinosaurs , giant whales, sharks or elephants.

But now it’s seven, and the release, according to the schedule, is only at eleven. During this time, you need to get tired so that you then instantly fall asleep, without listening anxiously to extraneous sounds and without worrying about whether dinosaurs are snooping around the museum halls (what if?).

To begin with, a light snack in the museum cafe and a short briefing. A museum employee talks about the rules of behavior and a three-hour adventure test that will begin any minute.

On the subject: The strangest museums in different states of the USA

“What do you think is the most important rule here? “The best, number one?” she asks. My son immediately throws up his hand and shouts, “Have fun.”

And this is the correct answer. No “keep quiet” and “don’t touch with your hands.” It’s not only possible to touch the exhibits here, but also necessary. And be noisy and fun too!

Children take flashlights, folders with a map of tasks and go to pass them. In three hours they need to go around almost all the halls of the museum, and not only pass the tests on the road, but also find the “lost” letters on the floor in order to make the “secret” proposals from them at the very end.

There are a lot of children, usually about a hundred come to sleepovers, so everyone is divided into groups - and each group has its own route, so as not to follow each other in a crowd. We start by playing predators and herbivores. In 30 seconds, herbivores need to hide as many eggs as possible from predators, and in the same 30 seconds, predators need to find (“eat”) as many of these eggs as possible.

In the next room we make something fossil out of clay (the product can be picked up in the morning), then we learn to be like a dinosaur, without arms. The task is simple and enjoyable: besides, we get a reward - a huge marshmallow.

Nearby, one can feel “in one's own skin” how subcutaneous fat protects Arctic residents from cold: my son and I lower our hands first in an ice container, and then in a bag of fat through which ice is not felt at all.

Then we guess the truth and myths about giant squid. Here they are, next: squid and squid with huge tentacles. Somewhere near them we will spend the night today.

Around the corner, museum staff teach children and adults how to crawl like a lizard. If you think it’s easy—just lie down and crawl—then you’re very mistaken!

As we move from one stage to the next, we occasionally pass through a central hall with a huge elephant named Henry in the center. There is twilight all around, the words echo, and excited children with cards in their hands scurry past every now and then. It seems that I really am in some kind of movie, and Henry is not a statue - here he is, he just turned his head in my direction! Or was it just my imagination again?

Savannah, desert, tropical forests and places of residence of prehistoric people - it’s already 10 o’clock, but the journey does not end.

We plant sunflower seeds, push something in a “prehistoric” mortar, disassemble and assemble a model of the human spine. Hungry, we want to eat “like dinosaurs” again, but this number doesn’t pass: dinosaur-sized marshmallows are given only one for each participant.

On the subject: New York museums: what and when to visit for free

In the end, the secret phrase looms. After passing the test and finding all the letters, we made a confession: “We love spending the night”

Meanwhile, the time is right for spending the night. In the ocean hall, children and adults are trying to find comfortable corners. The sound of pumps is heard from all sides: it is filled with air by air mattresses. Participants who are more seasoned on hikes settle on yoga mats. A procession in colorful pajamas is brushing your teeth in the toilet.

Someone is reading, someone is chatting before bedtime, someone is examining the belly of a huge whale hanging from the ceiling. It seems that you are on a giant ship and the ocean is telling you something. Henry's elephant, left alone, is probably terribly bored.

In 11: 30 the lights are completely turned off. We fall asleep in about five minutes and sleep deeply and firmly at home (praise to the air mattress!).

And at exactly seven the museum wakes up again. As in the shooting, which is scrolled in the opposite direction, the mattresses are blown away, sleeping bags are folded, pillows disappear in bulky bales and strollers, funny pajamas are changed back to everyday clothes. Half an hour later, nothing reminds of yesterday’s incidents.

We have breakfast in the cafe, go to the souvenir shop, which is opened earlier especially for overnight guests, and we head to the exit.

Goodbye, elephant Henry! Next year we will probably come to you again: we must make sure that we did not dream of all this.

The original column is published on the website. Ukrainian service "Voices of America".

ForumDaily is not responsible for the content of blogs and may not share the views of the author. If you want to become the author of the column, send your materials to [email protected].

Read also on ForumDaily:

9 amazing places worth visiting in California

Xnumx best places to stay with kids in san francisco

How is the cultural life in the ordinary American school

11 routes in the US, which is worth a ride for everyone

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.