Snoozeums and Museum Overnights
Museums Host Overnight Events for Kids
Even a kid who falls asleep in science class is likely to perk up at the idea of spending the night in a museum. Some even let the kids stay up all night.
Museums have a lot of competition from television and the internet when it comes to attracting and engaging visitors. The Museum of Science and Industry is only one of several Chicago museums to create an experience even the internet cannot compete with. Chaperoned groups can register to spend the entire night in museum.
The MSI invites elementary schoolers to the Science Snoozeums. Participants spend the night exploring the museum’s exhibits. Of course, students are not on their own. They are supervised and encouraged to go to sleep. But, there is a designated area for those who are determined to stay awake.
The MSI was the first museum in North America to develop the hands-on museum experience. Of course, Science Snoozeum participants will take part in hands-on activities to earn a special Museum Snoozeum patch.
Snoozeum is just one of the school group experiences that attract more than a quarter of a million students. Well over a million visitors participate in learning experiences outside of school. No wonder the Zagat Survey has named the MSI one of the Country’s 50 Top Family Attractions.
The Field Museum calls their program “Dozin’ with the Dinos,” even though participants do not actually sleep in the dinosaur area. Groups of children ages six through 12 can sleep next to a rhinoceros, a gorilla, or a Pawnee Earth Lodge, or even under a whale’s skeleton. Part of the evening participants will participate in hands-on activities like making African Masai tribal necklaces. The more adventurous can take a self-guided flashlight tour of the "Inside Ancient Egypt" exhibition.
Most of the exhibitions are open overnight. The museum reports there are usually 500 to 700 people spending the night about every other week throughout the school year.
“Asleep with the Fishes” is the Shedd Aquarium’s overnight program for children ages six through 12. The Shedd overnight experience includes live entertainment.
When Shedd Aquarium opened in 1930, it was the first inland aquarium to have a permanent exhibition of both freshwater and saltwater fishes. When the Oceanarium opened in 1991 and the Wild Reef opened in 2003, the Shedd nearly doubled in size and remains the world’s largest indoor aquarium. Overnighters tour the entire aquarium including the Oceanarium and the Wild Reef.
Families, schools, and other organized groups can participate in these overnight programs. There are fees for each program. To read more about what is included and how to register a group, refer to the museum’s website:
- Science Snoozeum at the Museum of Science and Industry
- Dozin’ with the Dinos at the Field Museum
- Asleep with the Fishes at Shedd Aquarium
