There are certain things that just seem too cool to be true, and the idea of a silent disco at The Natural History Museum was one of them. 

Until earlier this year, when my friend Helen mentioned it as something that she would like to do for her birthday. 

Amazing. 

Tickets and a nearby hotel were booked back in March, and we had an excited wait until the end of August for the event (which sold out within days of going on sale). 

It just so happened that I ended up being was in London for work the day before and for the following few days afterwards, so it fit together perfectly. 

Having no idea what to wear, I spent a few hours trawling the stores in central London until I found a top covered with sequins. Helen arrived, we went for food, spent several hours getting ready (there were face gems and glitter eyeshadow involved), and we walked to the gate outside the museum, ready for the disco to begin at 10.00pm.

From the very beginning, I could see that it was going to be a good night. The Great Hall was dimly lit in a beautiful purple glow, and once the bag check had been passed, we were handed headphones with three different channels for different genres of music. There was alcohol being served from makeshift bars at the side (with mojito on tap!), and the three DJs were set up at the top of the steps at the end of the hall. 

It. Was. FANTASTIC. 

There was perhaps a little hesitation when it began, but as the guests started dancing (and drinking), everyone starting joining in. The atmosphere was wonderful – there weren’t any fights or drunk people falling about everywhere, everyone was really friendly, from what I could see everyone was extremely respectful of the fact that we had priceless exhibits right next to us. The organisers had limited the ticket numbers in a clever way, so that there were enough people for it to seem busy, but not enough to make it feel cramped. It was really well managed.

And as the night wore on, people started singing (which was highly amusing if you took your headphones off). The songs got sillier, the guests got louder… A pattern started to emerge where people would switch over to the more popular songs. One minute, we would be screaming along to classic 80s rock, then a throwback 90s R’n’B track, then a Disney classic.

It’s probably one of the most surreal experiences of the year – singing “Let it Go” from Frozen at the top of my lungs in the middle of the impressive Great Hall of the Natural History Museum at 12.30am, feeling more than a little tipsy while holding a plastic cup of mojito and looking up at the skeleton of a Blue Whale that hangs from the ceiling. 

And Helen and I laughed so much. And danced. And laughed some more. It was so much fun, and by the time it ended my throat hurt from the ridiculous singing I had been doing all evening and my feet were sore. In a flash, three hours had gone by and we didn’t even notice.

Looking back, I didn’t realise how lucky we were to get tickets – the event is now sold out until March 2025. Keep an eye out for tickets here.