01 Mar Museum by Moonlight gives adults a night out at the Children’s Museum
The Children’s Museum is a wondrous place, full of fantastic exhibits that not only teach children, but also adults. Yet, as an adult it’s not always fun to deal with screaming, crying, and uncontrollable children when all you want to do is look as some Hot Wheels memorabilia. That’s what makes the Children’s Museum’s yearly adult-themed night so special.
If you don’t know about the adult takeover event at The Children’s Museum, then I hope to enlighten you. This year’s sold-out event was sponsored by American Funds from Capital Group and called Museum by Moonlight. Adults 21 and over were granted access to tour the entire facility, all while eating fingers foods, pizza, and downing some adult beverages, including Sun King beers.
When you entered the main area of the museum, it felt like you walked into a nightclub; a DJ playing loud dance music and everyone was mingling with a alcoholic beverage in their hand. The only thing missing was dancing, which I found later on. I decided to grab a Sun King Osiris and head to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exhibit on the second floor.
Walking around the museum casually drinking a beer felt a bit awkward, but right at the same time. One thing I didn’t count on was not being allowed to take your beverage into the exhibit rooms. Many did anyways and I never saw anyone get asks to leave the area if they had a beverage in hand, but the museum set up cup holders outside of exhibits. The one setup by the TMNT exhibit happened to be right in front of the “stroller parking” sign, which I found amusing. After thoroughly enjoying the TMNT exhibit – huge fan – I made my way around the rest of the second floor and ventured up to the third and fourth floors of the museum.
While the food was good, I was there for the beer. Sun King Brewery had a booth setup in the Powers of Children exhibit – ironic, I know – and they were giving away free samples of their house beers: Cream Ale, Osiris, and Wee Mac. This was a great way for newcomers to the craft beer scene to try some of the best beer in the city, especially without having to shell out money if they didn’t like it. The Sun King volunteers answered questions about the beers and then let each person play their version of Plinko. Each attendee could win prizes like a Sun King beer koozie, a Sun King gift certificate or even a Sun King pin. I won the pin…
Throughout the museum they had alcohol ticket stations set up, which allowed you to purchase however many tickets you wished and then use at a separate alcohol station. This may sound like a lot of work just to get a beverage, but it cut the lines down considerably and there were enough of these stations set up, which meant the lines were short and fast.
There we a couple other cool exhibits like Take Me There: China, Treasures of the Earth, and of course the Carousel. Even the Playscape, which is set up for children five and younger, was packed with adults letting their inner child take over. However, nothing would compare to the Dinosphere and its Silent Disco.
I figured this event would be a blast, but I had no idea just how fun it would be, even flying solo for the night. Tickets were on the pricey side, $65-$75, but the event matched the price and all of the proceeds benefits The Children’s Museum Fund which ensures all children and families, regardless of income, can experience the museum. This is one event that I will not stop talking about for the next year and will definitely return next year, this time with a lot more people.
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