What kid doesn’t love a sleepover? Hanging out in pajamas, late-night munchies, giggle attacks and staying up late are all part of the fun. Why not take it to the next level and have your family enjoy a sleepover program at one of Toronto’s top attractions.
Spend a night at the Royal Ontario Museum
With a line-up of activities until midnight, shuteye may not be a big part of the sleepover, but fun certainly is. The adventure at the Royal Ontario Museum begins on Friday evening, when after visiting some of the museum’s many galleries, campers watch the movie, A Night at the Museum. In the film, a museum security guard (played by Ben Stiller) is shocked to find that the exhibits come to life at night when the doors close to the public.
There’s no roaming T-Rex here, but sleeping under towering dinosaur skeletons is a sure way to make history come alive. Participants roll out their sleeping bags in the ROM’s impressive art deco Heritage Building, which displays highlights of the museums specimens and artifacts, including two hadrosaurus dinosaurs.
The gallery is sectioned off into groups – The Barosaur Barracks, Pterosaur P-town, Stegosaur Station and T-Rex Territory. After putting out your sleeping bag, kids can make a dinosaur puppet, have a bedtime snack of pizza and popcorn, or sing at the PJ Karaoke Party. All activities are great fun, but the best part has to be wandering around in your pajamas, feeling as though the museum is your own personal play space.
While you’re not free to roam the entire museum, most of the second floor is open, and it’s here that you’ll find kid-friendly exhibits like the dinosaur galleries that display 25 fully mounted dinosaur skeletons, including “Gordo” the Barosaurus, the largest dinosaur on permanent display in Canada.
Despite the late hour, kids show no sign of slowing down as they uncover dinosaur bones, dress up in knight’s armour, and identify meteorites in the Discovery Gallery. The interactive activities in the biodiversity gallery is also a big hit, though the 11-ft stuffed moose looks a little too real at this hour of the night. Likewise, the bat cave takes on an even eerier quality as midnight approaches.
There is no normal closing announcement, but as the witching hour approaches, two security guards come around saying ‘beddy-time” in a sing-song voice, and the few stragglers make their way back to their bunking quarters. It’s dinosaur dreams until a wake-up call.
At 7:00 AM bleary-eyed campers shuffle down to breakfast and pack their belongings. You still have the museum to yourself until it opens at 10AM. And while you can see the effect of the late night on the adults, the kids are as energetic as ever as they once again explore all the museum has to offer.
For more information, go to: www.rom.on.ca.
Cosmic sleepover adventures for space cadets
If your child aspires to be an astronaut rather than a paleontologist, the Ontario Science Centre has an out-of-this-world sleepover program. Space exploration activities include designing and testing a rocket, navigating the moon in a rocket chair and exploring their Space Hall. This newly renovated section includes among its many interactive displays, stunning images of the early universe, a rock specimen from Mars, a meteorite collection and a working cloud chamber.
The Science Centre’s new planetarium takes you on a personal journey through space. The 3-D effects allow you to feel as though you’re flying through the universe with a close up view of thousands of stars and galaxies. For the best effect, try lying on the floor on the cushions provided.
Later the evening wraps up with an IMAX film and an opportunity to “dance with the stars” at a late-night DJ/PJ party, before bunking down among the exhibits.
For more information, please visit: www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/sleepovers.
Wild nights at the Toronto Zoo
For a truly exotic sleepover experience, there’s the Serengeti Bush Camp at the Toronto Zoo. You’ll be transported via Zoomobile to your camp, and then whisked away on a two-hour guided walk where you’ll see the animals up close. Dinner, a roaring camp fire and a night listening to the sounds of ‘Africa’ are all part of the adventure.
For more information, visit: www.torontozoo.com/CampsPrograms/BushCamp.asp.
Jennifer Merrick is a freelance writer specializing in family travel. She feels blessed to be able to experience new places through the eyes of her two curious and energetic children.