American Museum of Natural History Adds Dates to 'Grown Up Sleepover'

Due to the overwhelming popularity of the American Museum of Natural History's adults-only sleepover program last summer, it is adding three new sleepover dates for grownups-August 1, 2015, October 2, 2015, and December 19, 2015. A number of 21-years-and-up guests will have the chance to explore the Museum, when it is empty of crowds, in a more sophisticated version of the beloved family sleepover program. The sleepovers for grown-ups will featurespecial guided tours, food, music, beverages, and access to all 45 permanent exhibition halls, including the Rose Center for Earth and Space, once the Museum shuts its doors to the general public. The events last from 7 pm until 9 am the next morning.

Each evening will begin with a champagne reception and music provided by the 12th Night Jazz trio in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall. About 200 nighttime explorers can roam the nearly empty halls of the Museum, where they might run into a herd of elephants in the Akeley Hall of African Mammals or come face to face with looming dinosaur skeletons, including a 65-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex, during a flashlight tour through the darkened fossil halls. Participants will be invited to attend special presentations with various Museum curators, and they can also visit Spiders Alive! to immerse themselves in the fascinating and complex world of spiders, among the most versatile animals on the plane; experience Life at the Limits, which introduces visitors to bizarre mating calls, extreme examples of parasitism, and other extraordinary means of survival, using specimens, videos, interactive exhibits, and models; or enjoy wild creatures up close during a live animal demonstration in the Kaufmann Theater.

A delectable buffet will be served in the Museum Food Court. As the evening winds down, participants can unroll their sleeping bags to sleep under the beloved 94-foot-long blue whale in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. A "Lunar Lounge" in the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, which will be open from 11pm to 7 am and equipped with charging stations and bedtime snacks, will offer an oasis for night owls. Wake-up is scheduled for 7 am, with a breakfast snack.

"Our challenge is to offer visitors an intimate adventure of discovery that is unlike anything else they have experienced," said Brad Harris, senior director of visitor services.

Sleepover fees are $350 per person ($300 for members). For more information call 212-769-5200 or visit www.amnh.org/plan-your-visit/amnh-sleepovers/for-grown-ups.