Museum nights

We need more sleepovers (in museums) for adults

Oct 16, 2025

I used to be a night owl, the kind of person easily still up at 2 AM reading a book or giving some finishing touches to an upcoming project. I remember talking to a friend about the calming effect that would give me working when everyone was probably sleeping or partying. Now I ask myself what if there were other nocturnal activities you could choose to do with your friends, other than staying home or going dancing?

In 1968 was published a novel about two siblings running away from home and spending a week inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art without getting caught. The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - written by E. L. Konigsburg - was cited by Tania June Sammons in her article “Oh, Olana!” as the introduction to the question “Which institution would be your pick for spending a week in its spaces?”. Tania writes she would spend her week inside Olana. I am personally not sure about a museum where I would stay for a week, but I would love to spend 24 hours at Roden Crater, even if it is currently not open.
That led me to a little scavenger hunt : Which are the institutions that allow visitors past the “normal” hours?
I believe this is an unconventional and marvelous idea because 1. not everyone can go to museums on the weekend and 2. an evening/night at the museum has an alluring cinematic air to it.
Who has not seen “Night at the museum” from 2006?

Regarding history, culture and visual art, there are occurances which allow you to see collections during the late hours of the day.

In Italy specifically, the national ones are the European Museum night in May and the Contemporary Day in October.

European Museum Night was born as a German initiative.
In 1997, Berlin created the "Long Night of the Museums" (Lange Nacht des Museen), an event encouraging citizens to visit and discover the museums near their homes. The idea was taken up by France in 1999, with the"Printemps des musées". In 2005, the event officially became European Museum Night, with the aim of highlighting the cultural heritage of each country, attracting a younger, more nocturnal public to institutions.

The October’s initiative is promoted by AMACI—the Association of Italian Contemporary Art Museums—with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Department of Cultural Heritage and Landscape, and DARC—General Directorate for Architecture and Contemporary Art.

Even if the more common date seem to be the year 2005, it is true some cities decided to include these kind of events way before the international decision. To cite a few, in 2003, Art2Night started in Bergamo, followed in 2005 by Genova Start.

After 2005, a wave of night events has been planned by cities or institutions themselves. In 2018 MUSE started A night at MUSE, a sleepover event for children.

MUSE is a science based museum that has many locations, and a yearly calendar full of events for every age. This event in particular - that can be done in the Renzo Piano’s location in Trento, in the Stilts museum in Ledro and more - is just for kids age between 4 and 12 years old accompanied by adults. This kind of sleepover event is actually widespread, with institutions from all over the world providing this kind of experience, from the British museum to the “The Garden in Dreams” event in Padova.

Apart from the European Museum Night, every country and city has its own set of rules. I found a (partial) list of events across Europe related to this topic, so check it out if you are planning a trip and are interested in doing something a little different!

As for partecipating as an intitution, I found that it could be rather easy. For the October’s Contemporary Day, you just have to fill a form with the institution’s details.

So, dear reader, where would you like to spend the night?

I cannot wait to read your thoughts. Should I have included some other event?
What do you think of the ones I picked?
Let’s continue talking in the comments :)

annar.3d

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