A night at the Museum
If you’ve ever wanted to sleep under dinosaur skeletons, tour treasure-filled galleries by torchlight or bed down with 40 strangers and their kids then the Australian Museum’s Dinosnore is for you!
We joined in the fun on Friday night with a busy program of activities culminating with a giant slumber party in the dinosaur gallery – thankfully snore-free.
On arrival at 6.30pm we were instructed to grab a space in the gallery for our blow-up mattresses and sleeping bags, and to get changed into our pyjamas – which we both did, even though I was the only adult in the Museum in PJs – lighten up people!
We were then treated to a special show featuring a real life (pretend) dinosaur, Winnie and her trainer. Following a pizza dinner we were split into groups to either tour the museum by torchlight or create dinosaur themed craft from recycled materials. The groups then swapped, and after another hour (it was 10pm by now) it was time to grab our snack boxes and watch ‘A night at the Museum’ on the big screen. Em had been exhausted since 8pm so we skipped this bit and went straight to bed. It didn’t take long for Em to fall to sleep and I wasn’t far behind…and while I woke up at 2.30am and was awake for a while, it was kind of nice to be the lone person awake in the dinosaur gallery.
The next morning we were up at 6am for a continental breakfast of fresh fruit, pastries and yoghurt and were then on our way, walking back through an awakening city with our bags, pillows, dinosaur crowns and craft. ROAR!
Pros:
It’s an amazing experience - it’s not every day you get to sleep under a T-rex!
The staff who run it are relaxed, friendly, helpful and tolerant – it’s a very professional event.
Cons:
It’s a lot to get through in one night, especially as the kids have just some from school. The program doesn’t finish until midnight which is way too late for little ones.
Tips:
Make sure your torch is bright – ours were not as strong as they needed to be.
Be prepared to be tolerant. There are many parents and kids in one place and some may not discipline their children as much as you (or at all).
Get in the right midset – I think I was too strict with Em when no one else seemed
to mind their kids running around.
HAVE FUN! Wear your PJs…who cares how you look…you will probably never see the other sleepover guests again.
Where: Australian Museum, Sydney
Cost: Children $140 (Members $120) Adults $180 (Members $150)
When: The next Dinosnore is on in June – take a look at the Australian Museum website for details.