If you've ever wondered what goes on in Cambridge's museums after dark, now is your chance to find out!

For one night only on Wednesday, 13 February, six University museums will be holding a free after hours event, giving visitors a chance to examine the likes of dinosaurs, fruit bats, ancient statues, totem poles, tribal masks and more by night.

People of all ages are invited to bring a torch and follow in the footsteps of Ben Stiller's good-hearted museum security guard, Larry Daley, in the hit 2006 movie, Night At The Museum.

All the usual exhibits, from life-sized Roman and Greek statues, to giant mammals and marine reptiles, will be there to see emerging spookily from the shadows, making the night one to remember for regular visitors and first-timers alike. There will also be special trails and craft activities.

Andrew Hunter, who is co-ordinating the event, said: “When you lock up a museum for the night you sometimes wonder whether everything will be the same in the morning.

“We would like visitors to experience the thrill of this twilight hour and have some fun at the same time. You can spend the evening at one or two museums, or race round all six. Just don't forget to bring a torch to spot what's lurking in the shadows!”

Special events on the night will include a story-telling tour at the Museum of Classical Archaeology, featuring tales of magic and monsters from the ancient past. Clues scattered around the Whipple Museum of the History of Science will lead to a stash of hidden treasure, while more detective work at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences will uncover the hidden connections between some of its fossils, minerals and gemstones.

Visitors will also be able to make models at the Zoology Museum, masks and headdresses at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, or take up the quest to find polar bears and penguins hidden in the depths of the Scott Polar Research Institute Museum.

All of the museums will be open from 4.30pm to 7pm, leaving plenty of time to experience all six well after the dark has closed in.

Twilight at the Museums is funded by Renaissance in the Regions, a government programme to develop and transform England's regional museums.


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