International Museum Day

International Museums Day is celebrated on May 18th in order to encourage people to visit and enjoy museums, and to raise awareness of the challenges museums face and that they can only can survive with community support.

There are a few places in our world that are more educational than museums. After all, where else could we hope to see more actual pieces of history that tell so many stories about our ancestors? From prehistoric spears to Egyptian mummies, from ancient Greek sculpture to medieval armor, and from the first radios to the first planes used in warfare in World War I, museums have it all. Unfortunately, there are millions of people who have direct access to museums that have never even visited one.

There are many possible reasons for this - perhaps they think just looking at old things will be boring, or perhaps they don't know how different the past world was and have no reason to care. Whatever the reason for not taking advantage of the incredible amount of tangible knowledge museums, and regardless of age, International Museums Day is a time to invest in education in the most attractive form.

Many people may ask why they would invest in something like International Museums Day when modern technology can give them all the answers they could possibly need. Well, to answer fairly, all you need to do is do a little Google search.

These days, if you need to find an answer to something, surely you can go online and find it right? Well, yes, but what you need to realize is that the answer you get may be wrong.

A 2016 study on how many historical facts you find online had some shocking results. It appears that as of November 2016, more than 48% of all historical data available online is incorrect or completely false. So, taking this into account, you may want to hold your fair elsewhere.

The truth is, education is important, so days like International Museums Day should be something that excites yourself and your young ones; After all, while there will be kids who fill their heads with nonsense, you have the ability to fill your kids with the goodness of knowledge.

History of International Museum Day

In 1977, the International Council of Museums established a day when museums around the world could promote their role in the community and educate people about the importance of visiting and supporting museums, as they are an important source of education and what connects us to our past and our history.

One of the goals of ICOM is to support the global museum community and protect objects of cultural heritage, preserving history and meaning to different cultures.

This holiday has been celebrated ever since, and it has grown in popularity with more and more countries and museums participating in the day's activities over the years. More recently, some 30,000 museums in more than 150 countries participated in International Museum Day.

Each year a different theme is highlighted for International Museum Day, reflecting the specific preoccupation affecting the international museum community. Some previous topics have included:

• 1993 - Museum and indigenous people
• 2001 - Museum: building community
• 2008 - Museums as agents of social change and development
• 2017 - Museums and Competition History: Saying the Unspeakable in Museums
• 2020 - Museum of Equality: Diversity and Inclusion

The theme for International Museums Day 2021 will be “The Future of Museums: Restoration and Re-imagining”.

To reach a younger audience, the popular video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons held their in-game International Museum Day event, on May 18, 2020.

Why International Museum Day?

According to ICOM, it is important to honor museums, as they are non-profit organizations, permanent in their communities, serving society and helping its development, by preserving artifacts, culture, study history and science, and make all these objects and events accessible to the public to educate them and provide them with enjoyment.

Museums hold works of art, pieces of history and priceless objects of human and animal heritage, which could be lost forever or damaged without specialist research and care. Without museums, we wouldn't be able to see, understand and experience so many artifacts that are so important in mapping our history and development as a society. International Museums Day reminds us to support our local museums so they can continue to educate people and serve their communities.

How to celebrate International Museum Day

There's no better way to celebrate International Museum Day than by taking a trip to a nearby museum, alone, with friends, or even your kids if you feel they're old enough to appreciate it. Depending on where you live, the closest museums you'll find may be those dealing with everything from agriculture to fashion, from astronomy to archaeology, from art to natural history. . If it turns out that the museums in your area aren't the ones that interest you, maybe you can consider a day trip to a nearby city to visit a museum that's better suited to your interests. Carpooling with a friend or two will make the trip cheaper and most likely more enjoyable.

Moreover, you should think about how well you tolerate crowds. International Museums Day is an increasingly popular event worldwide, so chances are many of the larger and more popular museums will be quite crowded on this day, especially since many museums do not charge a fee into the door. If you don't feel like standing in long lines to see each thing or have to move through crowds of people, taking extra care not to step on anyone's shoes other than the objects in the exhibit, you might want to visit his museum a few days before or after International Museum Day.

On weekdays, museums are usually quiet places where people can come to study the way of life of our ancestors and contemplate what motivated them to behave and thrive as they did. However, you decide to celebrate Museum day, don't let the opportunity to learn about human history go to waste!

On International Museum Day 2022, which takes place on May 18, we wanted to explore the potential of museums to bring about positive change in their communities through three lenses:

• The power of achieving sustainability: Museums are strategic partners in the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. As key actors in local communities, they contribute to a variety of Goals, including short-term and socioeconomic promotion and dissemination of scientific information on environmental challenges.
• The power of innovation in digitalization and accessibility: Museums have become creative playgrounds where new technologies can be developed and applied to everyday life. Digital innovation is a great way to make them become more accessible and interested because they help audiences understand more about complex and nuanced concepts.
• The Power of Community Building through Education: Through their collections and programs, museums form a much-needed social thread in community building. By upholding democratic values ​​and providing lifelong learning opportunities for all, they contribute to an informed and engaged civil society.