KEY POINTS:
It's 7PM and although the Auckland Domain is still aglow with evening sunlight, darkness descends within the museum.
The lights are out, the doors have been closed for more than an hour and three dozen torch-bearing children are gathered along with their parents as "Harry", a museum security guard, briefs them on what lies ahead for the evening.
It is the museum's new event - "Night at the Auckland Museum" - a popular tour loosely based on the movie of the same name where the exhibits come alive at night and freak out the caretaker, played by Ben Stiller.
It is drawing the crowds - up to 160 people a night across the museum's three shows - and among them is 10-year-old Alex Hunter-Cotidis of Miramar, Wellington.
"This is my first time here and I really like the entrance - it's better than the one at Te Papa," he says, admiring the tall and magnificent pillars that salute visitors.
Meanwhile, "Harry", complete with torch on his head, lays down the law before the group departs. "Just be aware there are big objects everywhere - like meeting houses," he says.
With their torches on, the group departs on their 40-minute adventure.
After a brief chat about Sir Edmund Hillary and volcanoes, "Harry" lets the children in on a secret.
"There's been some strange things happening here and we can't really explain what's going on," he says, his head swivelling to take in the dark expanses. Suddenly, an unusual knocking noise hammers away behind a wall.
At that moment, the once-inviting museum becomes eerie. Dark already, the shadows appear longer, stranger, the dinosaur skeletons grow larger. Some children clutch their parents while the braver among them shine their torches into unlit corners.
To say any more would give away what's in store but there are certainly some surprising, and scary, encounters on the way - some human, one maybe not and a couple definitely not.
"I wasn't really scared," said Alex, who wants to be a scientist when he grows up.
"But I was quite concerned about the dinosaur bit and what his tail was doing."
Museum education services manager Peter Millward said the museum had had earlier success with evening programmes such as Dinos after Dark but this event was proving to be an even bigger hit with humans both big and small.
Nocturnal Drama
* Night at the Auckland Museum has three shows at 5.30pm, 6.15pm and 7pm from Tuesday to Saturday.
* It runs until February 6, although museum staff are considering extending the season.
* Tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for children and all visitors who book and pay for the show will receive a SkyCity Cinemas voucher that gives a child free entry with a paying adult to the movie Night at the Museum (conditions apply).
