A Night at the Museum
Andrew Jones
Behind the Scenes at the Natural History Museum: A Night to Remember
It’s not every day you get to wander through the Natural History Museum after dark. No crowds. No noise. Just you and one other photographer in one of the UK’s most iconic buildings.
6 weeks of form filling, appeasing and getting budget sign-off I had finally got it agreed. We can get access to the Natural History Museum. The Night at the Museum, is a campaign I developed in collaboration with the Natural History Museum and Coopers Fire. I wanted to bring the unseen into view plus get to showcase the incredible exhibits. For Coopers Fire it was a spotlight on their products and it was an opportunity to experience the museum in a completely new light.
So I set out to do something that had never been done before. I led the creation of a full 360-degree tour of the museum, capturing video, photography, and tonnes of case study material. The goal was to immerse the audience in the magic of the building and set a whole new benchmark for the quality of our campaigns. And it worked.
A Campaign Like No Other
From the moment we stepped inside after hours, it was not lost on me how lucky I was. We walked through the museum capturing these incredible exhibits without any people getting in the way of our shots, and some incredible lighting. We captured behind-the-scenes footage that most people never get to see. Honestly, it felt super surreal. It was fun, a little eerie, and completely unforgettable.
And the best part? Now you get to see it too.
The Impact
The results were incredible. The campaign achieved a 42% engagement rate, our highest organic performance to date, along with record-breaking click-throughs. But beyond the numbers, it sparked meaningful conversations with senior stakeholders across National Trust projects and helped secure work with other major heritage sites.
It also raised the bar. This campaign became a blueprint for future case studies, setting a new standard for storytelling, production value, and creative ambition. It showed what’s possible when you take a bold idea and bring it to life with care, vision and a willingness to do things differently.
Just the Beginning
Night at the Museum wasn’t just a one-off. It proved the power of stepping behind the scenes and telling stories in fresh, unexpected ways. It reminded me why I love what I do and I showed everyone I knew these photos. And it opened doors to a whole new level of creative thinking for every campaign that follows.
If you’ve ever wondered what the museum looks like after the lights go out, you’re about to find out. I saw it first. Now, so can you.
