Summer program allows visitors to explore the National Natural History Museum of China after hours and even sleep among the dinosaurs.
When night falls and most museums close their doors in Beijing, Ding Yiran starts her adventure at the National Natural History Museum of China, which is stuffed with beautifully preserved plants, mounted animals, fossils and lifelike animatronic dinosaurs.
It is one of the biggest thrills for the 10-year-old, and a time when her imagination can run wild, even though, unlike the 2006 blockbuster movie Night at the Museum, the exhibits don't actually come to life when the sun goes down (at least, not in a literal sense).
Having been a volunteer at the museum for about two years — as part of the museum's child docent program — from her perspective, the diverse array of exhibits has already taken on a life of their own, and Yiran knows the vivid stories behind most of them.
"I feel really happy and proud to share what I have learned with visitors," Yiran says, smiling.
Along with Yiran, a total of 12 young docents attended the launch day of the "Night at the Museum" program at the natural history museum on Aug 1, providing services to nearly 2,000 visitors.
"As one of the museums that is hardest to secure a ticket for during the summer vacation, the monthlong Night at the Museum not only helps meet the increasing public demand, but also provides a unique experience for visitors," Jin Miao, deputy director of the museum's public education department, says.
She adds that the evening events attract not only those who couldn't get tickets for the daytime opening, but also working parents who don't have time to bring their children during the day.
From 6 pm to 9 pm this month, the museum team will organize a series of activities, including lectures, movies, sleepovers, as well as the staging of an original play titled I Am Red Peter.
As well as hosting such activities, according to Jin, the Night at the Museum evenings create opportunities for researchers to interact face-to-face with the public without interrupting their busy daytime schedules. To enable more people to get involved, lectures will be livestreamed online.
On the evening of Aug 2, Li Jianjun, a retired paleontologist at the museum, gave a lecture to a roomful of children and their parents, sharing his career path and explaining how dinosaur footprints provide clues to the environments that dinosaurs lived in, as well as their gaits and sizes. His lecture has been viewed about 430,000 times online.
In the halls and galleries of the museum, researchers also become docents at the museum, helping visitors capture and appreciate nature's awe.
In front of a wall of colorful butterflies and moths, Zhang Lin, 8, is intrigued by a researcher docent, who reveals interesting facts about the specimens, explaining that butterfly wings are transparent and the tricks they employ to avoid being eaten.
"When I go home, I will tell my friends that there is a kind of butterfly called the Golden Kaiser-i-Hind, which is as precious as giant pandas," the girl says. She traveled to the capital with her parents during the school summer holiday.
The only regret during her visit is that her mother failed to book a sleepover at the museum.
As a star event of the Night at the Museum program, a nightly adventure lasting from 6:30 pm to 8 am the following morning is offered to children between the ages of 6 and 12, accompanied by their families. When the doors close and the lights dim, 30 families will have the chance to wander through empty galleries, explore the history of humanity and sleep at the feet of the giant dinosaurs in the Dinosaur Park.
Taking place every Friday and Saturday night throughout this month, the event sold out within hours, even with a price tag of 998 yuan ($138.88) for a child and an adult.
To help navigate the museum, visitors can get a passport which can be stamped at designated locations they visit, according to Jin. There are QR codes on the booklet that people can use with their phone to scan for more information about the exhibits.
"Through special events and activities, we aim to enrich the lives of the public and attract people to the museum, so they can experience its charm," Jin says.
Starting in 2006, the Night at the Museum program has received over 100,000 visits. With a collection of around 372,000 historical and modern specimens, the 23,000-square-meter National Natural History Museum of China, which dates back more than 70 years, is a popular attraction for exploring the history of life on Earth in the capital.
As well as the natural history museum, many other institutions across the country have offered after-hours activities and events this summer after the National Cultural Heritage Administration issued a notice on improving museum services on July 14.
To enable as many people as possible to experience museums in person, the notice requires popular venues to extend their opening hours and offer a variety of activities to further their educational role and mission.
According to online travel agency Ctrip, museum tours are gaining popularity among tourists. Data shows that the major consumers of products and services related to museums and galleries are from the generations born after 1980.
The most favored museums are the Palace Museum in Beijing, followed by the National Museum of China, the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, the Shanghai Museum, the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an and the National Natural History Museum of China, according to the latest ranking released by Ctrip.
The museum craze is evident in a report by short-video platform Douyin, in which it notes that posts related to museums were viewed more than 51.34 billion times.
Some 578 million in-person visits were made last year to the country's 6,565 registered museums, according to the latest statistics from the National Cultural Heritage Administration.
"Summer school holiday is the peak season for museums, which makes it hard to bag an entry ticket, and extending open hours can help alleviate the issue," says Wei Xiang, researcher with the National Academy of Economic Strategy affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
This summer, there are 17 museums in Shanghai and more than 30 in Beijing providing after-hours activities. On every Friday until Aug 25, the Guangdong Museum in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, will be open until 8:30 pm, offering events from musical performances and specialized tours to hands-on activities.
"Beyond its cultural influence, the museum sector has the potential to improve its economic value," Wei says, adding that museums should explore innovative business models and cooperation strategies to leverage their influence in the regional culture and tourism fields.
Contact the writer at wangqian@chinadaily.com.cn
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