2008 - 2009 Discovery Series Overnight Programs:
Locations and Dates

Location

Sacramento Theatre Company – Sacramento, CA
Spend Saturday evening enjoying the adventures of a young cabin boy and the infamous pirate, Long John Silver, in this adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Treasure Island. We will take a backstage tour and attend a pre-show prologue focusing on the social, historical, and cultural context of the play. This is Opening Night so we will also enjoy a reception after the play and get to meet members of the cast. On Sunday, we will tap into our imaginations by not only creating, but acting in, our own play. We will spend time warming up, writing, rehearsing, improvising, and performing (with script-in-hand) our play! Sacramento Theatre Company creates a non-competitive, nurturing atmosphere which promotes self-confidence, increases skills in public speaking and cooperation, and helps you to develop a lifelong relationship with your creative energy!

Cost: $225 per person

International Spy Museum – Washington, DC
The Museum doors have been locked for the night, but behind the shadows a group of exclusive recruits stand ready to begin a night of top-secret spy training. Perfect your alias and cover-story, check in at “Border Patrol”, and prepare for a night of intrigue and adventure. Your mission begins with assuming a secret identity and gathering intelligence using real spy skills. During the night, you will transform yourself through disguise, make and break secret codes, interrogate real spies, and hunt for a mole in your ranks! Meanwhile, the adults will be busy with their own super-clandestine mission, the details of which are too sensitive to reveal. As day breaks, enemy agents will be exposed in a dramatic finale. Recruits will reclaim their real identities, and this exciting mission will be accomplished!

Cost: $140 per person

 Saturday,
 February 21 –
 Sunday,
 February 22,
 2009

 Saturday,
 September 12 –
 Sunday,
 September 13,
 2009

Virginia Air and Space Center – Hampton, VA
Journey through the world of air and space at this exciting, interactive overnight program of engaging aerospace workshops. Hands-on activities include building and launching individual model rockets, constructing a space colony, and participating in a cryogenic demonstration with liquid nitrogen known as a space freeze. Travel the world and soar into space as you watch a space-related IMAX film. Join us for an out-of-this world adventure!

Cost: $140 per person

Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University – New Haven, CT
Consider the origins of life in this marvelous adventure! After an evening of engaging workshops and discoveries, you’ll sleep among the prehistoric in the Great Hall of the Dinosaurs. Whether you are involved in: a behind-the-scenes look at the ornithology, herpetology, or paleontology collections; learning how fossil preparators extract dinosaur bones from the surrounding matrix; meeting Yale scientists to learn how their research is helping answer questions about the evolutionary history of the planet; or participating in a challenging game, you are sure to have an amazing overnight experience!

Cost: $140 per person

National Aquarium in Baltimore – Baltimore, MD
Coral reefs, vibrant fish, exotic creatures, and a jungle journey await you on this overnight adventure! Travel from Maryland ponds to South American rain forests to the Australian Northern Territory as you explore the Aquarium’s galleries after dark. See beyond the exhibits in a behind-the-scenes tour, participate in educational activities, and sleep with the rays and fish snoozing nearby. Awaken to a trip through the rain forest to view birds eating their breakfast.

Cost: $140 per person

 Saturday,
 April 4 –
 Sunday,
 April 5,
 2009

 September, 2009
 (exact dates TBA; 
 check back soon) 

San Diego Wild Animal Park – Escondido, CA
During this unique adventure at a zoo unlike traditional zoos, you will be taken on an exciting safari!  Accompanied by knowledgeable Park guides, experience animal encounters on guided walks and enjoy the sounds of these exotic creatures at night. Watch animals roam in entire herds in enclosures measured in acres rather than feet. Take an after-hours tour with an animal expert to view wildlife that inhabit the Park. Camp near Kilima Point, overlooking the spectacular habitat and fascinating residents of the East Africa exhibit. Participants will sleep in tents provided by the Wild Animal Park.

Cost: $140 per person

USS Constellation – Baltimore, MD
Live the life of a nineteenth-century sailor! Upon boarding the ship, male and female students become “ship’s boys” and parents become “landsmen.” You will “learn the ropes” by developing a familiarity with the basics of life aboard a man-of-war, such as bracing the yard, turning the capstan, and drilling with the broadside cannon. The evening program will also explore the recreational activities of sailors. Morning activities allow students to continue to experience some of the work that was required of sailors, which also helps in the maintenance of the historic ship. Participants will sleep in vessel hammocks. An evening and morning meal, reflecting the common foods of the time, will be provided.

Cost: $140 per person

Saturday,
April 25 –
Sunday,
April 26,
2009

NYU School of Medicine Department of Environmental Medicine and Sterling Forest State Park – Tuxedo, NY
Don a lab coat and become a scientist for a day…and a night! Planned activities include conducting a DNA experiment under the guidance of a leading genetic toxicologist; extracting DNA from plants with common kitchen items; determining how clean the air we breathe is; and searching out bacteria from the world around us. Also, take a pond walk and a mine tour with an experienced park ranger who will help you identify the many different species of aquatic life plus the abundant variety of plants, animals, and birds in the forest. This dynamic program will leave you in awe and wanting to know more!

Cost: $140 person

Monterey Bay Aquarium – Monterey, CA
Have you ever wanted to spend the night in one of the world’s greatest aquariums? In this program, participants will not only get to sleep near the fishes, they will experience a private sea otter feeding and training session; behind-the-scenes guided tours of the galleries and animal holdings; a guided walk along historic Cannery Row to Fisherman’s Wharf; and a sailing excursion on board the Derek M. Baylis, a 65-foot sailboat designed for ocean research. Families will also have the opportunity to work with naturalists: get your hands wet gathering plankton, testing water samples, and observing the fascinating bottom-dwelling creatures in the samples. Along the way, you may get to see whales, dolphins, and sea otters! If that isn’t enough, students will then join the Underwater Explorers Diving program where they will get a fish eye view of the Great Tide Pool. Don a mask, regulator, and dry suit for a surface SCUBA experience. The Aquarium’s certified dive staff will assist students in the water and introduce them to the animals that live along the rocky shore. Top that with a special discovery lab experience and free time on your own to explore the galleries and exhibits, and families will have an experience of marine discovery like no other! 

Due to the special features of this program, it is priced higher than other Discovery programs.

Cost: $350 per person

Saturday,
July 25 –
Sunday,
July 26,
2009

Saturday,
August 15 –
Sunday,
August 16,
2009