Acropolis Museum in Greece celebrates the day with free entry to events and activities. In honor of this year’s International Museum Day, the Acropolis Museum produced, in collaboration with the Hellenic Mint, commemorative medals dedicated to the lion. The project was inspired by the Acropolis of Athens, where huge lions once dominated the pediments of the Hekatompedon Temple of Athena, and miniature adaptations decorated the bronze vessels of the sanctuary.
Some of the events and activities that are taking place this International Museum Day at the Acropolis Museum are video projection and gallery talks, workshops in both Greek and English for children and school groups entitled ‘Tracing the Lion’ and special edition souvenirs at the museum shops. To commemorate the event, one can purchase a special casket that will include the five commemorative medals that have been released in previous years, dedicated to the attic tetradrachm of the archaic period, the rooster, the hare, the raven of the Acropolis and finally this year, the lion.
In addition, six museums will be launched in Iran on International Museum Day (May 18), said Mohammadreza Kargar, director of Iran's Museums and Historical Properties Office.
The six museums which are scheduled to open today include Qajar Museum in West Azerbaijan, Minoodasht Museum in Golestan, a museum on natural history sciences in Khorasan Razavi, Astaneh Ashrafieh Museum and Astara Museum, both in Gilan, and Mousavi Stamp Museum in Alborz Province.
Kargar added that among the museums in Iran, 61 are private of which 40 have been inaugurated since 2013.
International Museum Day has been marked worldwide around May 18 each year since 1977.
This day is an occasion to raise awareness on how important museums are in the development of society.
ICOM Advisory Committee organizes the theme of this event that, given the high number of countries involved, lasts a day, a weekend, a week or even a month.
From America to Oceania including Africa, Europe and Asia, this international event has confirmed its popularity.
In recent years, International Museum Day has been experiencing its highest involution with almost 30,000 museums that organized activities in more than 120 countries.
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