May 18 is International Museum Day. How to conduct it

Every year on May 18, anyone has the opportunity to become involved in history and culture. On this day, all museums in the world open their doors, display interesting exhibits, hold quizzes, and crosses. This holiday was established in 1977 and has remained popular ever since.

Nowadays, almost every city celebrates Museum Day; These “centers of culture” exist even in villages and urban-type settlements. International Museum Day is not just an event when you can get acquainted with unique exhibits and visit interesting exhibitions. This is a time when the whole world remembers the importance of preserving cultural and artistic heritage.

Another interesting holiday, the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, is also celebrated in May, on the 24th.

Who should be congratulated on Museum Day?

On May 18, all specialists involved in the preservation of the world cultural and artistic heritage expect congratulations:

• museum staff;
• exhibition guides;
• librarians;
• artists and restorers;
• employees of Houses and Palaces of Creativity.

However, gifts on this day are given not only to employees of “centers of culture”, but also to visitors. During the holiday, you can safely count on free excursions and theatrical performances; Many cultural institutions also organize free concert programs.

Present

Tickets. Tickets for a concert, a favorite performer, a theater performance, or an interesting exhibition would be an excellent gift for a museum employee.

Antiques. An antique collectible will be a pleasant gift for a museum employee. When choosing a gift, you need to select an item that will fit well into the interior of your home or office.

Book. A book about famous world museums or exhibitions in a gift edition will serve as a themed gift on a professional holiday.

Portrait. A portrait of the hero of the occasion, made in an antique style, will be an original gift.

Celebration traditions

“Cultural” workers begin to celebrate their holiday long before the solemn date. Usually they prepare in advance for the special date:

• colorful booklets and guides;
• sets of postcards with photographs of the most interesting exhibits;
• unusual souvenirs;
• children's literature dedicated to the main museum values.

On May 18, the festive events begin with free tours of the exhibitions. In the afternoon there are openings of art exhibitions and presentations of new projects. The events continue until 23:00. Statistics say that in the evening the number of people wishing to “plunge into culture” always increases.

Figure 1. Free excursion for children

This is interesting! In honor of the holiday, exciting quizzes are often held for children and teenagers. To find the answer to the quest questions, participants must independently explore the exhibition, find the required exhibit and become familiar with its history. Such competitions stimulate the interest of the younger generation in history.

Toasts

“International Museum Day is a holiday for those who understand that a museum is a special world with its own rich inner atmosphere, an oasis of culture and history. The museum is the focus of the rich experience of past generations, spiritual and material wealth, without which the further development of a people, nationality, and nation is impossible. Happy holiday to you, dear museum workers – guardians of our history as a guarantee of the future.”

“A museum is a whole world, a separate piece in which you can trace the evolution, development of urban culture, the life of entire peoples, scientific and technological progress, art and history. Today we wish that everyone who works in this oasis of culture will be duly appreciated for their work and always feel great!”

“On International Museum Day, we hasten to congratulate those who, day after day, preserve our history for future generations. Any exhibit in your kingdom of antiquity takes on a new life and carries invaluable information. We wish that each of you gets a lot of pleasure from your work and a decent income.”

history of the holiday

The founder of the new international holiday was the International Committee of Museums in 1977. Currently, about 150 countries are taking part in the celebrations. Every year the International Museum Committee determines the theme of the celebrations, for example: “protection of cultural heritage”, “popularization of art among young people”. Each institution has its own holiday program, but it must resonate with the given theme.

Figure 2. Interactive quest for teenagers

This is interesting! The initiators of the night festivities were the French. Local museum workers noticed that as night fell, the exhibitions of curiosities and antiquities began to look different: more mysterious and enigmatic. Soon other countries followed the example of the French. Spending a festive night among paintings or mummies is not only fashionable, but also romantic.

Interesting Facts

• A traditional museum is a place where paintings hang and various household items are collected. But there are also very unusual museums - such as the Spoon Museum in the USA, the Water Museum in Kharkov, the Museum of Lies in Germany, the Bread Museum in St. Petersburg or the Goat Museum in Tver.
• The most visited museum in the world is the Louvre (in Paris). More than eight million people admire its exhibits every year.
• In Russia, the beginning of the museum tradition was laid by Peter I. It was on his order that the Kunstkamera, a repository of rarities, was opened. To attract visitors there, Kunstkamera workers were required to feed those who came in with soup.
• The smallest museum in the world is located in the hollow of an oak tree, and it is located in Lithuania.
• And to walk through the halls of the Hermitage (St. Petersburg) you need to walk 24 kilometers.
• There is a sewer museum in Paris. It was opened in 1800 and today there are many different exhibits there.
• The oldest museum in the world is located in Rome. It was created back in 1471.
• At the bottom of the Caribbean Sea is the Silent Evolution Museum. To visit it, you need to wear scuba gear instead of shoe covers.
• There are currently 365 museums in Moscow, and only 173 in London.
• The most visited museum in Russia is the Hermitage. More than 4 million people visit its exhibitions every year.

Congratulations in verse

We would like to wish in our fast-paced age that Museums do not give up their positions, May there be many visitors in the halls and new interesting exhibitions!

To the creators of amazing museum exhibitions, to all those who are involved in preserving heritage, to experienced guides, experts and caretakers, we wish you great happiness from the bottom of our hearts on this holiday!

Figure 3. Festive entertainment and educational program

On this solemn day, not only museum workers receive congratulations.
Other professionals working in the field of culture are also honored: employees of libraries, private and public art galleries, cultural and leisure centers and houses of creativity. The Festival of Museums is an amazing time when you can come into contact with antiquity and feel like a participant in the events of bygone times. Alexander, April 21, 2021.

Competitions

Holiday gift Couples take part in the competition. The participant's hands are tied so that the first person has his left hand free, and the second has his right hand. Couples are given a gift box, wrapping paper and ribbons. Participants must wrap the gift for the time being. The pair that completes the task faster wins.

Draw an elephant Teams take part in the competition, each of which is given a Whatman paper and a felt-tip pen. All contestants are blindfolded and given the task of drawing a specific part of the body. After all participants have completed their part of the task, the drawings are compared. The team whose drawing is most similar to an elephant wins.

Auction Before the competition, you need to prepare small souvenirs: keychains, figurines, boxes, piggy banks, etc. Each participant in the competition receives a souvenir and must describe it as a rare and antique item with a rich history. After this, bidding takes place. The winner is the participant who manages to sell his souvenir for a large sum.

About the profession

Museums are guardians of human history, its values ​​and cultural heritage. Everything that society lived with in a certain period of time, that it created and destroyed, is carefully preserved in the form of museum exhibits. The world has existed for dozens of centuries, among which a person sees only a single, life-long moment allotted to him. But museums are able to tell him about the life of his ancestors, about what occupied their minds and hearts. This is a special place where you can experience the scale of the universe and feel like a part of the endless history of the planet.

Museum workers are divided into specialties: restorers, tour guides, artists, historians, exhibition organizers, designers, decorators, caretakers, directors and other workers. Their responsibilities include meeting and accompanying visitors, conducting excursions, maintaining exhibits in proper condition, restoration work, organizing thematic lectures, cultural events and exhibitions. Museum employees must be endowed with a love of history and culture, erudition, communication skills, and knowledge of foreign languages. The path to the profession begins with graduation from a specialized educational institution.

The history of the formation of the holiday

The appearance of the celebration dates back to 1977. At a meeting of the International Council of Museums, which was located in Leningrad and Moscow, the Soviet Union put forward an initiative to include International Museum Day in the list of global holidays. ICOM accepted the proposal, and a year later the date began to be celebrated in more than 150 countries.

Museums have always been the main institutions performing the most important cultural functions. Its name comes from the ancient Greek “museion” - literally “temple of the muses”. True, its original purpose was somewhat different from its modern one. The ancient Greeks came to museums to be alone with themselves, put their thoughts in order and indulge in meditation, contemplating the beauty of the world around them. Later, by order of the emperor, stuffed animals, busts, sculptures, statues and medical exhibits were added to the temple, which were used as teaching aids. Museums acquire the image we are accustomed to only in the Middle Ages, when collecting began to gain momentum. Separate rooms were allocated for paintings, which were carefully monitored and cleaned. The first such institution was the main British Museum, located in London and created on the basis of the collections of famous wealthy people. In order to visit the establishment, it was necessary to register at the entrance in writing and receive a kind of coupon.

Museum institutions perform a number of important functions:

• Contribute to personal development and spiritual education;
• Document and save information;
• Satisfying the cultural demands and needs of citizens;
• Organization of leisure time.

Thanks to the latest modern technologies, it has become possible to increase the standard audience. Existing collections are popularized through the Internet and multimedia; excursions are accompanied by additional audio explanations, arousing increased interest among visitors.

Night of Museums

For several years now, in addition to the main holiday, a night at the museum has been held annually. This event was first held in Berlin, but over time the interesting initiative was taken up by museums in other countries.

This is the only day of the year when museums invite their visitors at night. Of course, people are attracted not only by the unusual visiting time, but also by the special program. At this time, museums hold a wide variety of events: concerts, video presentations, modern art projects. Museums of folk and applied arts often organize master classes, so visitors can not only learn interesting facts about the exhibits, but also learn a craft.

In Russia, the first night at the museum was held in 2002, and the initiator was not the capital’s institution, but the Krasnoyarsk Museum Center. Over time, other museums in the country joined this interesting action.