How to go someplace very, very dark and look at the stars all night
How I did it: I've done it several times - whenever I've been in a sparsely populated area with low light pollution, such as my aunt's farm up in the mountains, or in a national park, or when overnighting on a cross-country road-trip in a small town or village.
Unless you live in a city centre, simply switching off all the lights around your house (perhaps you could get the neighbours in on the act?) can significantly improve star visibility. The weather has to play its part too, obviously, you need a clear night with low humidity.
Lessons & tips: National parks or nature reserves are ideal as they typically provide a safe infrastructure (e.g. campsite) but low light pollution. Desert and semi-desert areas are the best; ditto cold clear winter nights (low humidity = better viewing experience).
Be comfortable - and warm! My buddies and I camped out on sleeping bags and just lay down after extinguishing all the light - it's most comfortable this way, and a good pillow helps. It takes a while for your eyes to get adjusted to the darkness and more and more stars appear until the Milky Way condenses like a giant cloud. If you are in a truly isolated area the sheer magnitude of the stars can be overwhelming for some, hence perhaps don't do this alone.
You can spend hours gazing; and different people have different experiences, but almost all of them include the words "profound" and "beautiful". Best done in silence, but if the vastness seems a bit scary an iPod with your favourite music would work just as well. (My favourite stargazing album: "The Invisible Band" by Travis)
