Zoo Atlanta (in Atlanta, Georgia) also does a sleepover program, with
local schools if I recall correctly. (Last spring I met someone there who
was one of the people responsible for delivering the educational portion
of the evening.  I gathered that the "gate" on these events is quite good
relative to the additional costs incurred by the zoo.  I asked if "regular
people" could sneak into one of these and she laughed and said no it was
just for kids and chaperones.)

So does the Cleveland Science Museum if I remember right.  Last spring I
was involved in a research project over several days there and noticed
that school groups can come in and spend the night. It seemed quite
well-organized.

One of the tricks seems to be to require a large number of adult
chaperones, and to have them uniquely responsible for behavior issues. The
museum staff makes rules, chaperones (parents and teachers) enforce them.
And so the museum staff has the fun part of doing the educational bits!

So I guess the "trick" as an adult, if you want to get in on one of these
things, is to find a kid whose class or troupe is going, and volunteer to
chaperone...  But it sounds as though, from the response on this list,
there might be enough adult (age-wise at least) interest for museums to
consider offering adult sleepover opportunities as well.

The trouble would be that adults are much harder to chaperone than kids,
and the museums might end up with a lot of behavior problems.  Like all
those snacks people keep mentioning, for example.

My pick for a sleepover:

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, in Tucson.
Under the stars.  Who needs food?
All the crunching would make it hard to hear the night sounds.

And let's do it soon before there get to be too many houses up on that
ridge.


Annette Wilson

University of Michigan
College of Architecture and Urban Planning
Doctoral Program in Architecture: Environment and Behavior

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