October 18, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY
Photograph by Denis Finnin/AMNH
When officials at New York’s American Museum of Natural History held the first “A Night at the Museum” sleepover — an adult-supervised slumber party for 8- to 12-year-olds — last December, they had 250 participants and no idea whether the event would be a success. Now they can barely keep up with demand, hosting about 465 participants each time.
“As soon as we announce dates, we sell them all out,” says Brad Harris, the museum’s senior director of visitor services.
The sleepovers are a creative way to attract museum visitors. Participants come away with vivid memories of their visit, and, Mr. Harris says, the program raises money.
Tickets are $109 per person and he hopes the program will eventually gross $1-million a year for the museum, especially after families make purchases in the gift shop and pay for parking.
The event’s popularity is understandable. After a brief orientation, children and their chaperones are divided into two groups, the museum’s lights are dimmed, and, holding flashlights, everyone embarks on a series of guided tours and activities. At evening’s end, participants are treated to snacks and an IMAX film. (At the first event in December, however, the feature was the comedy Night at the Museum.)
Adult chaperones (one for every three children participating) and museum staff members keep the youngsters under control, Mr.Harris says: “The most difficult thing we deal with is snoring.”
Participants wake the next morning to breakfast and shopping in the museum’s gift store. By 9 a.m., everyone has gone home and the museum opens for business at 10.
Here, Christine Giovannoli (left) and Reilly Lavrich compare notes before curling up for the night next to the elephant seal diorama in the museum’s Milstein Hall of Ocean Life.
