Here’s How to Have a Sleepover with Dinosaurs at the Canadian Museum of Nature

If you haven’t been to the Canadian Museum of Nature lately, you are going to want to add it to your ‘must do’ list for sometime in the upcoming weeks or months. Not only do they have a new program that includes live animal demonstrations (more on that later) but they also now invite families to spend the night at the museum on select evenings and enjoy special programming and a very unique overnight camping experience. Yes, you read that correctly – you can spend the night at the museum! (We are getting complete ‘Night at the Museum’ vibes just thinking about it, but we are pretty sure the exhibits won’t be coming to life during your stay.)

How to spend the night with dinosaurs

On select dates, the Canadian Museum of Nature welcomes groups and families for a museum sleepover. You bring your own sleeping bags and a sense of adventure, and the Museum will arrange an exclusive flashlight tour of the exhibits, a 3D movie, as well as snacks and breakfast the next morning.

This would be a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday, special occasion or just try something new together as a family.

These events are for children aged 5-12 and they must be accompanied by an adult (one adult for every 5 children). There is a special cost associated with the evening per person, but it includes your general admission to the museum the following day, making it a fantastic value. The event begins at 6:45 and concludes after breakfast the following day at 8:30 am.

Here are the upcoming dates for family nights:

Saturday, February 16
Friday, March 15
Friday, April 12
Friday, May 17
Saturday, June 8

Find more information about group sleepovers, or about what’s included in your family sleepover package here.

Special exhibits that are only here for a limited time

After spending the night at the museum, you can explore the general exhibits at a leisurely pace because your sleepover pass includes your admission to the museum the next day. However, if you want to purchase special exhibit tickets, there are two currently taking place that are very popular.

The first is the Survival of the Slowest exhibit with live animal demonstrations. Your children can get up close with a sloth, a hedgehog and other animals that they won’t get a chance to easily see otherwise. There are over 20 animals to visit! The exhibit is produced by Little Ray’s Nature Centres and is only on until April 22.

Also, the Butterflies in Flight exhibit has returned until April 22. We thought last year was going to be the last opportunity we had to attend, but it came back in the Fall to the delight of many families in the Ottawa area. Step into their tropical environment and explore a butterfly aviary and take time to make origami butterflies.

All special exhibits require a ticket in addition to the general admission ticket, but you can save time (and the stress of the special exhibit opportunities selling out) by buying your tickets online.

From unique family sleepovers to adventure and exploration with live animals, the Canadian Museum of Nature is an exciting place to plan your next family outing. You’ll get to learn something new, experience something amazing, and create memories that will last a lifetime.