Exhibiting a sense of adventure

On the evening of Aug 2, Li Jianjun, a retired paleontologist at the museum, gave a lecture to a roomful of children and their parents, sharing his career path and explaining how dinosaur footprints provide clues to the environments that dinosaurs lived in, as well as their gaits and sizes. His lecture has been viewed about 430,000 times online.

In the halls and galleries of the museum, researchers also become docents at the museum, helping visitors capture and appreciate nature's awe.

In front of a wall of colorful butterflies and moths, Zhang Lin, 8, is intrigued by a researcher docent, who reveals interesting facts about the specimens, explaining that butterfly wings are transparent and the tricks they employ to avoid being eaten.

"When I go home, I will tell my friends that there is a kind of butterfly called the Golden Kaiser-i-Hind, which is as precious as giant pandas," the girl says. She traveled to the capital with her parents during the school summer holiday.

The only regret during her visit is that her mother failed to book a sleepover at the museum.

As a star event of the Night at the Museum program, a nightly adventure lasting from 6:30 pm to 8 am the following morning is offered to children between the ages of 6 and 12, accompanied by their families. When the doors close and the lights dim, 30 families will have the chance to wander through empty galleries, explore the history of humanity and sleep at the feet of the giant dinosaurs in the Dinosaur Park.

Taking place every Friday and Saturday night throughout this month, the event sold out within hours, even with a price tag of 998 yuan ($138.88) for a child and an adult.