Family Fun at the Museum... at Night

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

23 May 2009 07:29 PM

Hollywood's new summer flick, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, has only been in theaters for 24 hours and it's already on target to set box office records.

Cha-ching!

The movie's producers could be happier. Ditto for curators at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. given that they anticipated that the movie - starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams and Amy Adams - would translate into big business for the home of the real airplanes and artifacts featured in the flick.

Not content to leave anything to chance, execs at the Smithsonian are running kid-friendly product promotions, including chances to win free trips for a sleepover at the iconic museum. Smithsonian curators struck deals with McDonald's, Kraft, Hershey's and Post cereals, which are running contests for kids to score trips to the National Air and Space Museum. The sweepstakes entries are printed on millions of boxes of macaroni and cheese, candies and cereals, with the grand prize winners receiving a package that includes a sleepover at the real Smithsonian, and a tour of the real artifacts seen in the movie.

Smithsonian curators say the museum draws roughly 10 million visitors during the summer months, but this season they are expecting double that amount thanks to the timely release of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

Washington tourism officials recently announced that they are planning special Night at the Museum packages with city hotels. In addition, other Washington-area museums are also getting in on the act by having their exhibits "come alive" at night. Even George Washington's Mount Vernon estate has made an effort to capitalize on the movie. The popular D.C.-area attraction is opening its grounds for lantern-lit evening tours with plans for historical characters to pop out of their exhibits.

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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