Smithsonian Sleepover

[Anonymous]

Has anyone done this? How comfortable/noisy is it to sleep?
We are considering it but cannot tell what its like.

Sounds fun. The museums are amazing. But, the sleep aspect of it makes me concerned. Is it chaos?

[Anonymous]

We've done museum sleepovers but not Smithsonian - way too expensive for me. They are not noisy but yes, the are uncomfortable. My bones just cannot take sleeping on the floor anymore!

[Anonymous]

I did this last year when they shut down the dinosaur exhibit at Natural History. I took my 9 year old DD and her 8 year old friend, and I think they were good ages for it. It was a little different than I expected - they actually had a bunch of activities for the kids to do, and of course it starts at night, so by the time they finished the activities, they were kind of dragging...and then there was an IMAX movie that perked them back up, and we probably went to sleep at about midnight? I'm not gonna lie, it was NOT comfortable. People did bring bedrolls/inflatable beds, and that was probably better, but it is kind of noisy and also not dark at all. And they woke us up at 6am by turning on all the lights!

But overall, it was a fun experience, and I'd probably do it again. Just plan to take a long nap when you get home the next day.

[Anonymous]

We did the one at American History last summer and I thought it was fantastic. We did a scavenger hunt for several hours. Each clue involved an activity and at the end you put them together to solve the mystery. So by the First Ladies exhibit you painted a plate to go with the idea of the China in that room. In the transportation area you made little cars and then raced them. All really well done.

I brought inflatable mattresses, eye mask and ear plugs and slept just fine. It was a little chilly.

We are doing Natural History this summer and hoping it is well done too. Go with a group if you can - makes it more fun for everyone!

[Anonymous]

We did sleepover at Archives and it was a fantastic experience. The floors are hard but we brought those self-inflating (no electricity needed) sleeping pads, and I slept fine with earplugs as did my kid. I would highly recommend it.

[Anonymous]

We did one at Natural History a few years back. Took my daughter and a couple of friends. They loved it. Fun activities that took them all over the museum, an IMAX movie fairly late at night (they were psyched to be up "late" for it) and the thrill of sleeping under a huge whale suspended overhead. Of course the museum echoes and the kids are wired, but everyone did sleep. Slept on the floor, so bring some mats to put under sleeping bags if hard surfaces are an issue.

But please don't let worry about a little lack of sleep for one night prevent you from taking your kid(s) on a really unique event! They'll be fine!

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I'm not worried about the lack of sleep. Rather, just wondering what to expect.

I wanted to also see if you all thought it was worth the price ($135/person is steep for 12 hours no matter how cool it is). We are very interested in doing it and I could not find any real reviews online.

Thanks!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did one at Natural History a few years back. Took my daughter and a couple of friends. They loved it. Fun activities that took them all over the museum, an IMAX movie fairly late at night (they were psyched to be up "late" for it) and the thrill of sleeping under a huge whale suspended overhead. Of course the museum echoes and the kids are wired, but everyone did sleep. Slept on the floor, so bring some mats to put under sleeping bags if hard surfaces are an issue.

But please don't let worry about a little lack of sleep for one night prevent you from taking your kid(s) on a really unique event! They'll be fine!

sold! Not OP but you totally convinced me. This is something my DS would LOVE.

[Anonymous]

Just signed up this morning. Have no clue what it will be like, but I'm game.

[Anonymous]

I was thinking of doing it but I think my kid is on the old side for it and $135 for each of us is a little steep (certainly steep enough that I wouldn't feel right asking friends' families if their kids wanted to come).