Museums

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

Check the kids in for an educational sleepover— and free up a romantic night for two.

Vacations are a great way to bond with your children, but admit it, you’d love to have just one adults-only evening. Don’t feel guilty: Your kids may be craving some time with people their own age as well. At these museums, everybody wins—and the kids might actually learn something, too. Just don’t tell them that—this is a vacation, after all.

If your little one is fascinated by how things work, drop them off at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Science Center (www.carnegiesciencecenter.org). On Nov. 8, the truth behind urban legends will be revealed (what kid hasn’t wondered if mixing Pop Rocks and soda will really make your stomach explode?). Also this month is a fireworks night with a top-notch view of the annual Light Up Night display and a scientific analysis.

Budding history buffs will appreciate the Overnight Encampment at Battleship New Jersey (www.battleshipnewjersey.org), a floating museum on the Camden Waterfront, just minutes from Philadelphia. Maria Cytowica, a Girl Scout troop leader in West Milford, NJ, brought her girls last year. “They liked the fact that they got a really personalized tour. They could ask questions and get answers about all the artifacts,” she says. The experience is an authentic one: Kids sleep in sailors’ bunks and chow down in the ship’s mess hall.

Dinner may be enough time apart for some families. “Kid’s Night Out” at the Mountain Top Children’s Museum (www.mtntopmuseum.org) in Breckenridge, CO (83 miles from Denver), is a perfect option if that sounds like you. From 6pm to 9pm, your tot (ages 5 to 12) can make crafts and do experiments like creating a whirlpool in two conjoined soda bottles. They will get dinner and be ready for bed when you pick them up.

If, in the end, you decide you just can’t part with your little ones even for a night, there’s always the Museum of Natural History (www.amnh.org) in New York City, where the whole family can explore fossils by flashlight and bundle up close together under the big blue whale. Although your kids may spend time running around with others their own age, they’ll be happy you’re there— even if they don’t admit it.

IT’S A DATE

After you drop the brood off, make the most of your night on the town.

PITTSBURGH
Firehouse Lounge
www.firehouse-lounge.com
Dance to DJ-spun tunes, or just relax by the fire with a beer.

PHILADELPHIA
Crêperie Beau Monde
www.creperie-beaumonde.com
Dine on French food while watching a cabaret show.

BRECKENRIDGE
Hearthstone Restaurant
www.hearthstonerestaurant.biz
Enjoy upscale comfort food among stunning mountain views.