Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on March 14, 2019.
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Sometimes you just want to be alone in a museum. Other times, you want to party at a museum.
At the Carnegie Museums, this means heading to one of the periodic 21+ Nights where you and other like-minded adults can experience the museum with a beer and participate in themed activities- 100% kid free!
We were invited to check out a recent 21+ Night, and in this one wanted to share what the experience is like for those looking to attend a future event.
“Midway” Theme Means the Carnival is in Town
As with most 21+ Nights in Pittsburgh, there is always a theme involved. At the Carnegie Museum of Art's event we attended, the theme was “Midway”- or all things Carnival.
Here, several rooms as well as the outside courtyard were turned into a classic carnival.
Outside there were an array of games of skill (such as the classic ring toss, strength test, a dunk tank, and more), side show acts (like juggling stilt walkers, puppeteers, and more), and cotton candy for all.
Inside there were performances by the Bombyx Collective aerialists as well as Lee Terbosic- a local magician who has weekly performances at the Hotel Monaco downtown.
At first we were a bit on the fence of the theme because we never really were in to carnivals as kids, so we weren't visiting to relive childhood memories. But the second we got the mallet in our hands and won the High Striker strength test, we were in.
The good news for you is that the 21+ Night theme changes in each event, so if you are not as interested in one theme all you have to do is wait a few months and a new themed event will arrive!
A Chance to Be (Nearly) Alone at the Museum
Now, the theme for 21+ Nights is one thing, but one of the aspects about the events at the Carnegie Museum of Art that we loved has to do with the crowds- or rather, lack thereof.
During our visit we spent a bit of time exploring the museum to check out the exhibits, and were a bit shocked by how many rooms we got to enjoy all by ourselves. Periodically someone would wander in or out of the room for a few moments, but for the most of our explorations we were completely alone.
I have to say, being alone at in the Hall of Architecture is something I can't say has ever happened, and is a bit of a surreal experience. That would never happen during regular hours!
Now, it is worth noting that the 21+ Nights at the Carnegie Museum only occur in one wing of the building, so if you are visiting for the Art Museum the Natural History Museum would be closed (and vice versa).
While this is a bit of a bummer for the ticket price the fact that you can get some quality time alone with the exhibits more than makes up for it, and we add it onto our list of reasons why we absolutely love 21+ Nights at the local museums.
You can't beat that!
We'd like to thank the Carnegie Museum of Art for inviting us out to the 21+ Night event. As always, all opinions are our own.
Looking for other 21+ Nights in the city? Check out 21+ Night at the Science Center and the Children's Museum!
