Did you ever see the 2006 movie Night at the Museum? In it, a natural history museum security guard gets more than he bargained for when he discovers that an ancient curse causes the museum’s taxidermy animals and exhibits to come to life. As expected, this event creates chaos that he has to manage.
I’ve always wanted to spend the night in a museum and have those treasured objects all to myself in the quiet darkness. It is definitely a fun exercise to imagine some of those objects coming to life and interacting with me.
Sometimes the buildings that house the objects are even more memorable and beautiful than the objects themselves. I’d love to just be in one of those grand, quiet spaces alone.
I’ll be spending time at Orlando Museum of Art this month and next, and I’m excited for that contemplation of and interaction with the art there. I want to discover the stories behind the work and discover what stories they bring out of me.
Have you had a meaningful or memorable museum experience of any kind you could share? Is there a history, science, art, natural history, aviation, or other kind of museum you have always wanted to visit? Is there a collection or an object you’d like to see in person? What is it that draws you to that place or object?
If you were to be allowed a night in a museum, where would you go? What would you want to see? What if that object or collection came to life?
Write your museum stories in the comments below so we can all enjoy them.