Sleeping Under the Sharks

My daughter's Girl Scout troop had a sleepover at the aquarium in June, and I volunteered to be a chaperone. Twenty-two eight-year-olds and four very tired adults.

We toured the whole building after closing time with a marine biologist, who let the girls touch a stingray and feed the sea turtles. We watched the jellyfish glow under black lights. The penguins waddled up to the glass to look at us, which the girls decided meant the penguins liked them best.

At ten p.m., we unrolled our sleeping bags on the floor of the big tunnel under the shark tank. Sharks glided overhead in the blue light, slow and silent. The girls whispered and giggled and pointed for an hour.

At midnight, my daughter rolled over in her sleeping bag, looked up at a huge nurse shark resting right above us and whispered, "Mom, this is the best night of my whole life." Then she fell asleep instantly. I stayed awake for a long time, watching.