What Happens At The AMNH At Night

Gothamist loves today's story about the American Museum of Natural History after hours that uncovers what museum employees do and feel. Christopher Raxworthy, one of the AMNH's keepers (currently working on the Frogs exhibit), confirms what we always wondered about people who work in museums:

And like many colleagues (and their children), he has read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the tale of two runaway children who spend the night holed up inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Like the others, he confesses a fantasy to run amok, or at least unhindered, through the museum's miles of exhibition halls. "To tell you the truth," he said, "I'd love to ride my skateboard around the elephants, but there are all those security cameras."

The Mixed Up Files is such a great book. And the AMNH is an awesome museum. Even besides the whale, the dinosaurs, and the human evolution exhibits (we dare you not to find adults giggling at the naked early humans), there are tons of things to see and many opportunities to get lost. And if you're on the Upper West Side in the late afternoon, the museum is free during the last 45 minutes or so - you just can't go to some of the special exhibits.

Photos of displays at the American Museum of Natural History from Bluejake (1, 2).