Night at the Museum: Halloween Aboard the USS Intrepid

Aircraft carriers-turned museums and Halloween don’t typically go together, but an exception was made on the evening of Saturday, November 2nd as approximately 125 kids between the ages of five and 17, armed with sleeping bags and flashlights, impatiently waited for the doors of the Intrepid Museum to open and for an all-night adventure to begin.

The kids and their adult chaperones were there for one of the museum’s regular “Operation Slumber” events, an overnight program in which pre registered attendants are given exclusive access to the museum for a night. This particular overnight event was termed a “Spooky Slumber Party,” and featured several Halloween-themed events, including a flashlight-guided tour of the museum’s flight deck, Halloween-related crafts, and a much-anticipated costume contest.

“A lot of kids sometimes struggle with finding the joy in learning,” said Marsh Clark, one of the museum’s program associates.

“If you haven’t found that one thing you love to learn about, try this out.”

The Intrepid, a World War II-era aircraft carrier, was transformed into a museum in 1982. The vessel—which is almost as long as the Chrysler Building is tall—currently houses Enterprise (the world’s first space shuttle), the Concorde jet (the world’s fastest commercial airliner), and Growler (“the only nuclear-weapons-carrying submarine open to the public,” according to the museum’s website), amongst other planes. Of the Intrepid’s nine levels, three are available to museum attendees. The slumber party attendants ate in the mess deck, where its crew once took their meals, and slept in the hangar deck. While this event had between 120 and 130 attendants, Clark said that overnight events can accommodate as many as 350.

Check-in to the event began at 6:15 p.m. Guests had time to choose their beds, watch an informative video in the theater about the Intrepid, and eat their dinner in the mess hall. Tours started at 8 P.M., which included an excursion onto the outdoor flight deck guided by flashlight, the room Enterprise, and the anchor room in the nose of the ship. Then, at 9:30 p.m., the much-anticipated costume contest began, featuring a range of characters and clothing emulating Spider-Man, the Doctor (from Doctor Who), and a dinosaur. Lights out was planned to be sometime between 11 P.M. and midnight.

“The...most exciting, arguably, activity for the kids are the 4D simulator rides, if they want to wait in line all night,” said Clark. “This is unlimited [throughout the night], so they can ride the 4D simulator as many times as they want.”

Operation Slumber events are available to everyone, but they’re usually attended by Scouts groups; the Spooky Slumber Party was no different.

“Civics plays a huge part in Scouting,” said Kim Salvo, the assistant cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 422. Salvo has been a Scouts volunteer for the past 18 years. The Spooky Slumber Party was, she estimates, her 14th trip to the Intrepid. (Clark explained that, when the weather turns cold, Scout groups usually prefer sleeping on the hangar deck over camping outside.)

As part of learning to be a good citizen, scouts are taught to respect the American flag and do community service, including a winter drive for veterans at hospitals in Manhattan.

“So when we come to something that’s connected to our military,” Salvo said, “it’s an extra special connection.”

Clark said that kids who attend the overnight programs tend to be those who are already interested in learning.

“I’m always shocked, there always will be a handful of teenagers that have explored every inch of the ship, not even before the first hour is over,” Clark said.

“They come to us like, ‘What else can I explore?!’ I’m like, ‘I think you’ve seen it all—let’s go see.’”

Many of the Scouts at the Halloween Slumber Party had already been to the Intrepid. One Cub Scout in Salvo’s group, Xavier, moved to Manhattan with his father Gary last August from South Africa. Xavier was enrolled in South Africa’s version of Cub Scouts (called Meerkats) before his family moved to New York, Gary explained. Because all Scouts programs are similar, Gary thought a familiar routine might help Xavier adjust to living in a new country. The duo have visited the Intrepid a couple of times since they joined the Scouts (Xavier said his favorite part of the Intrepid are the 4D simulator rides), but this would be their first time spending the night there.

“We love the Intrepid, and all the sights and everything,” said Gary, who added that he hopes to bring his four year old daughter with him to one of these events if a Scouts version for girls is created.

“What we love about this event is teaching kids that you can have fun while learning,” Clark said.

“Spreading the joy of learning is why we do these events ....[And] giving parents and kids a new place to go, a new place to visit. Not everyone gets to say they’ve slept inside a World War II ship.”