Which Night at the Museum Exhibits are Real?

Gifted Kids Will Enjoy a Scavenger Hunt Based on the Movie

Jul 6, 2009

Night at the Museum is a perfect movie: kids love it, parents like it, and teachers endorse it. A fun follow up activity is to discover which exhibits truly exist.

The 2006 movie Night at the Museum has everything a movie needs to be loved by teachers and kids:

it is based on a book
it brings in some educational aspects
it highlights some culture
it is entertaining.

Even better, many kids can go see the two locations where the original movie take places: The American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Watch the Movie Again Before Going to the Museum

Before going to the museum, prepare kids by watching the movie again on DVD and creating a scavenger hunt list. There should actually be two lists. The categories of things to find are

museum exhibits that are really in the movie
museum exhibits that are similar to what is in the movie

The exhibits that are in the movie and the museum are:

the outside front entrance
the "Dum Dum" statue (The Easter Island Head)
Rexy the T-Rex skeleton

The exhibits that are similar to what is in the movie include:

President Roosevelt on horseback (the statue in front of the movie)
Miniatures of people and cultures (there is not a Roman army or an Old West scene)
Life-size exhibits of historical settings (there are Native American scenes)
Hall of African Mammals
Hall of Ocean Life

Museum scavenger hunts are great for kids of all abilities; gifted kids can be given more challenge and more detail to search by having more obscure hints, such as finding a display of omnivores instead of a specific animal.

Planning a Trip to the Museum of Natural History

The Museum is located in Central Park; the subway station actually has an entrance that opens up into the museum, but visitors who choose that route will not see the entrance that is in the movie. That is important, since the outer building is one of the few real aspects of the film. Plan to leave the subway and walk out to the street, then go into the museum from the front.

Once in the museum, there are two payment lines. If parents want special pricing, there is a long line to deal with a live human being. This would be for coupon, packages, or donation-based admission. To avoid the line, use the automated kiosk and pay the recommended entrance donation.

School groups can purchase and organize admission and entrance ahead of time; be sure to note that the students want to see the entrance of the building.

Special Consideration for Sensitive Children

Adults should be aware that some children are very sensitive to the fate of the animals displayed at the museum; when the animals are seen up close, it is clear that they are not made of synthetic fur. Children of today are have learned to respect animals and habitats, and the sense that these taxidermy dioramas are made from animals that were hunted to create displays is very disturbing to a generation that can see a cheetah run simply by typing the phrase in Youtube.

Before going to the museum, parents and teachers should check out the American Museum of Natural History's interactive map that will help plot the visit. Seeing the whole museum is an all-day trip, so a trip for a few hours might need to be focused to specific areas.

The copyright of the article Which Night at the Museum Exhibits are Real? in Gifted Education is owned by Alex Sharp. Permission to republish Which Night at the Museum Exhibits are Real? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.