Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 17 July 2018

TravelLab: Adults take over science museums when night falls

By EMILIANO RODRIGUEZ touched the marine crea-
MEGA tures.
Associated Press Starfish like these depend
NEW YORK (AP) — Some- on a healthy ocean to sur-
times, in the middle of the vive, Karavias explained.
night, nocturnal creatures But carbon dioxide from
are allowed to roam the the burning of coal and
halls of New York’s Ameri- natural gas is making the
can Museum of Natural His- ocean more acidic. That
tory, free from shouting and means sea urchins, mussels,
swarming children. They corals and other organisms
are adult humans, known have a hard time creat-
to sometimes quietly con- ing their shells or skeletons,
template science with a which affects their devel-
cocktail. opment.
“If you go to a natural his- A few floors above, tour
tory museum during the guide Arlene Katz taught
day, it’s definitely a space visitors about animals that
for people who are under 4 glow.
feet tall. And that’s clear in She approached a tank
every way — from the soup with an eel snuggled in
they serve at the cafeteria the rocks. Its camouflaged
to the height of the label,” body was hard to pick out
said Victoria Cain, a muse- Visitors at the American Museum of Natural History spend the night under blue whale exhibit in from the sandy bottom. But
um historian at Northeast- Milstein Hall of Ocean Life during the adult-only sleepover in New York. an ultraviolet film made it
ern University in Boston. “It’s Associated Press glow greenish-blue. It’s not
kind of fun to reclaim that also alcohol, we were like, as he played with the con- and all you’re doing is get- making its own light, like a
space for adults.” ‘Oh my gosh. Someone trol panel of a full-size sub- ting an ‘Ooh!’ and an ‘Ah!’ firefly does. Instead, it ab-
On a recent June evening, read our diary,’” said Ja- marine. “It’s phenomenal.” but you’re not learning,” sorbs light and releases it as
175 grown-ups signed up nine Agarwal, 29, who at- While only adults are al- said Karavias, who stud- a different color that’s invis-
for a slumber party at the tended the sleepover at lowed, there is still childish ies the effects of climate ible to predators but obvi-
New York museum, which the American Museum of fun to be had. Monica See- change on marine life. ous to other eels.
has capitalized on the Natural History to celebrate bohm and her friend Renee “When you go to these at “It’s a hidden language,”
hype created by Ben Still- her husband’s birthday. Brown came in hooded T. night, all the background she explained. “Some-
er’s “Night at the Museum” THE EXPERIENCE rex onesies. noise is quieted down and times you gotta hide and
franchise. The museum’s During the night, guests “We’re always looking for you’re able to digest the sometimes you gotta show
first sleepovers were aimed have dinner in a room full some adventure, and we science behind everything off. They’re doing it simul-
at kids. Then in 2014, peo- of moon rocks and a 15-ton thought bringing a dinosaur that you’re looking at.” taneously. It’s a brilliant
ple 21 and up were invited meteorite, and can wan- costume was appropriate,” He was recently invited to solution.” Katz said the
to explore its darkened ex- der around the 45 perma- Seebohm said. “We like to show off acrylic bowls filled sleepover is an opportunity
hibit halls. nent exhibition halls. They dress for the occasion.” with weird-looking sea stars for guests to be surprised by
The experiment was so can also join guided tours, Lights go out at 2 a.m. Peo- and sea urchins. Bright red nature. “We want people
popular that other sci- visit the planetarium, meet ple can sleep in their own spikes covered the body of to have so much fun that
ence centers followed suit. with curators and chat with sleeping bags or the muse- one big star. Another one they almost forget they’re
Aquariums and museums in museum scientists about um’s cots, aligned right be- had arms so thin that they learning,” she said. “But this
Atlanta, Milwaukee, Port- their research — all while low the belly of a 94-foot- looked like noodles. is not an amusement park.
land, Oregon, and else- the city rests. long blue whale that hangs Some visitors were awed; We are sneaking in a lot of
where have hosted paja- “I don’t think there’s any from the ceiling of the Hall others recoiled when they information.”q
ma parties for grown-ups. way you’d be able to ex- of Ocean Life. Those who
And they’ve become a hot perience this place in such feel restless can get cook-
ticket, according to Cain. a special way as doing ies and coffee at the Hall of
“When I saw that we could this kind of overnight,” said Planet Earth.
do it and that there was Giancarlo Bruni, of Toronto, Michael Nedell, 53, re-
called being afraid of the
whale as a child.
“When I was younger, that
blue whale freaked me
out. I’d been scared of (it)
until I grew into a teenag-
er,” he said. “Now I get to
sleep under her.”
THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT
Silence greets those who
venture into remote exhib-
its. That stillness makes a dif-
ference for visitors hoping
to learn something, said bi-
ologist John Karavias.
Visitors sleep under the light of dioramas during the adult-only “During the day, you’re Janine Agarwal, stands next to a 122-foot-long model of a giant
sleepover at the American Museum of Natural History on Friday, fighting crowds. You feel herbivore dinosaur that lived in Argentina 100 million years ago,
June 22, 2018, in New York. like you’re being rushed during adult-only sleepoverin New York.
Associated Press Associated Press