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Travel & Experiences

Museums and zoos where you can spend the night

Children ages 6 to 12 can bring their sleeping bags and wander around the museum, participate in workshops, and hear bedtime stories underneath Sue, the T-Rex. Cost is $60 per person. Read more about it here.

Children ages 6 to 12 can bring their sleeping bags and wander around the museum, participate in workshops, and hear bedtime stories underneath Sue, the T-Rex. Cost is $60 per person. Read more about it here.

  (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune)

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When the lights go out at the museums and zoos, what happens? Well, a few of the museums and zoos have started hosting overnight stays for adults and children to see. Spots all over the country are letting visitors spend the night among the exhibits, be that under the twinkling lights of a planetarium, by dinosaurs, or alongside ferocious (stuffed) beasts. Here are a few museums and zoos where you can actually spend the night, according to Travel + Leisure.

Baltimore National Aquarium's "Sleepover With the Sharks"

Guests get to fall asleep as sharks swim past. Included in the $120 fee: a behind-the-scenes tour, reserved seating in the dolphin amphitheater, a 4D immersion film, as well as dinner and breakfast. Read more here.

  (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's "Extra Innings Overnights"

Kids aged 7 to 12 can stay the night for only $49.95. The fee includes an opportunity to check out baseball artifacts after hours and enjoy special activities, like re-creating radio broadcasts of famous homerun calls. More here.

  (Curtis Compton / Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Philadelphia Zoo's "Adult Overnights"

The Philadelphia Zoo invites adults to get up-close to live animals during an after-dark park tour. And, of course, there will be cocktails. More here.

  (Matt Slocum / AP)

Intrepid Museum's "Operation Slumber"

For $120 a person, overnighters get to explore the Hangar and Flight Decks and take part in a treasure hunt through the museum. Read more about it here.

  (Andrew Burton / Getty Images)

The Bronx Zoo "Family Overnight Safari"

For $175 a person, kids and their parents get to fall asleep by the sea lions. Just be prepared for an interesting wake up call! Read more here.

  (Mario Tama / Getty Images)

International Spy Museum's "Operation Secret Slumber"

This Washington, D.C. museum is letting kids aged 9 to 13 embrace their inner James Bond. The program includes participants getting top-secret KidSpy training, gather intelligence, break secret codes, uncover secrets, and track down a bad guy. Cost is $115 a person. Read more about it here.

  (Pete Souza / Chicago Tribune)

American Museum of Natural History's "A Night at the Museum"

Children and their parents are invited to spend the night at this Manhattan museum and go on a hunt for fossils after hours. According to the website you can “settle down beneath the 94-foot-long blue whale, next to African elephants, or at the base of a striking volcanic formation and fall asleep in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most beloved museums.” Space is limited and dates sell out quickly. Cost is $145 per person. Read more about it here.

  (DON EMMERT / AFP/Getty Images)

Smithsonian's National Zoo "Snore and Roar"

This program in Washington, D.C. lets you fall asleep to the sound of howling wolves. As the sun sets, guests pitch a tent on Lion/Tiger Hill and take a tour with an animal keeper. The program is offered for both families and as an adults-only from June through September. Read more here.

  (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images)

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