About International Museum Day
International Museum Day is observed on 18 May, organised by the International Council of Museums since a resolution passed at its 1977 General Assembly in Moscow. More than 37,000 museums in about 158 countries take part, with a theme set each year. In 2027 it falls on Tuesday, 18 May 2027. Indian museums, including the Indian Museum in Kolkata and the National Museum in New Delhi, mark it with free entry, talks and special displays.
Most Indians see the inside of a museum once, on a school trip, at speed, being told not to touch anything. That is a poor advertisement for a building that holds a few thousand years of the things people made. International Museum Day is the day museums try to fix that impression.
What is International Museum Day and who runs it?
International Museum Day is run by the International Council of Museums, ICOM, and held around 18 May each year. It was created by a resolution adopted at ICOM's General Assembly in Moscow in 1977, with the stated aim of pulling museums' efforts together and presenting them as places of exchange between cultures.
ICOM sets a theme each year and asks museums to programme around it. The first official theme came in 1992, on museums and the environment, and the first shared international poster in 1997, adapted in 28 countries. Since 2020 ICOM has tied the themes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ICOM reports that more than 37,000 museums in about 158 countries took part in the most recent edition. The current year's theme is announced on ICOM's website a few months ahead.
Which are India's most important museums?
India's two anchor institutions are the Indian Museum in Kolkata and the National Museum in New Delhi, and their founding stories are very different.
The Indian Museum began on 2 February 1814, when the Danish botanist Nathaniel Wallich was appointed Honorary Curator of the Oriental Museum of the Asiatic Society, the society Sir William Jones had founded at Park Street in 1784. It moved to the Chowringhee building and opened to the public with two galleries on 1 April 1878. It is the oldest museum in India and holds six sections: art, archaeology, anthropology, zoology, geology and botany.
The National Museum came out of an exhibition. Indian works from museums across the country were shown at Burlington House in London in the winter of 1947 and 1948, then displayed at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on their return. The response led to a permanent institution, inaugurated at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 15 August 1949 by the Governor-General, C. Rajagopalachari. It holds roughly two lakh objects.
| Museum | City | Founded | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Museum | Kolkata | 1814 | The Bharhut stupa railings, an Egyptian mummy, and the natural history sections |
| National Museum | New Delhi | 1949 | Harappan objects including the dancing girl from Mohenjo-daro, miniature paintings, Buddhist relics |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya | Mumbai | 1922 | Indian miniatures, Gandhara sculpture, a Gothic-Saracenic building |
| Salar Jung Museum | Hyderabad | 1951 | One family's collection, including the Veiled Rebecca and the musical clock |
| Government Museum, Egmore | Chennai | 1851 | The Amaravati sculptures and the Chola bronze gallery |
| Calico Museum of Textiles | Ahmedabad | 1949 | Indian textiles, visited only on guided tours booked in advance |
| Partition Museum | Amritsar | 2017 | Oral histories and objects from 1947, built around survivor testimony |
Science museums and memorial houses matter too. The National Council of Science Museums runs centres in several cities, and their school programmes on days like National Science Day draw bigger crowds than most art galleries.
How is International Museum Day marked in India?
Museums mark it with free or reduced entry, curator-led tours, conservation demonstrations where staff show how an object is cleaned and repaired, workshops for children and displays of items normally kept in storage. Many state museums use the day to open a gallery that has been under renovation.
The behind-the-scenes tours are the ones worth chasing. Most museums display a small fraction of what they hold, and 18 May is often the only day the reserve collection or the conservation lab is shown to the public.
Do
- Check the museum's holiday list. Many Indian museums close on Mondays, and some on national holidays.
- Take the guided tour or the audio guide. Indian museum labels are often brief and undated.
- Let children set the pace and stop at one gallery. Two hours of marching past cases teaches nothing.
- Ask at the desk about the education department; several museums run free children's sessions that are barely advertised.
Avoid
- Don't touch objects or lean on cases, even where there is no rope. Skin oil and vibration both do damage.
- Avoid flash photography; it is banned in most galleries because light degrades pigment, paper and textiles.
- Don't assume photography is allowed. Rules differ by gallery, and some Indian museums charge a camera fee.
- Avoid loud phone calls in galleries, and mute videos you play for a child.
What to write on International Museum Day
Happy International Museum Day. You once spent forty minutes in front of one miniature painting while I sat outside. Let's go again. I'll bring a book.
Happy Museum Day, Papa. The Salar Jung clock is still the first thing I think of when anyone says Hyderabad. You took me three times.
Happy International Museum Day. Condition reports, label edits and school groups don't make the newspapers, but there'd be no galleries without them. Thank you.
It's International Museum Day and most museums are free today. Pick one gallery, not the whole building. That's the trick with kids.
Happy Museum Day. Go stand in front of one object for an hour and write what you see before you read anything about it. Best training there is.
Wishing your team a good International Museum Day. Small museums hold the things the big ones never collected. Hope today fills your visitor book.
Museums sit alongside World Heritage Day on 18 April and World Tourism Day on 27 September in the same part of the calendar.
How to wish someone on International Museum Day
A good International Museum Day message names a museum and a memory, not the idea of museums. Mention the gallery a friend's child would not leave, or the object you both still argue about. For someone who works in a museum, curators, conservators, guards and education staff alike, thank them for the specific work: most museum jobs in India are low-paid and invisible. Avoid messages that treat museums as dull places one should visit out of duty.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is International Museum Day in 2026 and 2027?
International Museum Day is on 18 May every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
Who created International Museum Day?
The International Council of Museums, ICOM, created International Museum Day through a resolution adopted at its General Assembly in Moscow in 1977. It has been held around 18 May every year since.
Which is the oldest museum in India?
The Indian Museum in Kolkata, founded in 1814 under the Asiatic Society with the botanist Nathaniel Wallich as its first honorary curator, is the oldest museum in India. It opened to the public at its Chowringhee building on 1 April 1878.
When was the National Museum in New Delhi founded?
The National Museum in New Delhi was inaugurated at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 15 August 1949 by the Governor-General, C. Rajagopalachari. It grew out of an exhibition of Indian art shown at Burlington House in London in the winter of 1947 and 1948 and then displayed in Delhi.
Are Indian museums free on International Museum Day?
Many Indian museums offer free or reduced entry on 18 May, but it is decided institution by institution rather than centrally, and not every museum does it. Check the museum's website or social media a few days before you go.
How do you make a museum visit interesting for children?
Pick one gallery instead of the whole museum, give the child a task such as finding the oldest object or the smallest animal, and stop when they lose interest. Museum education departments in India often run free hands-on sessions, so ask at the entrance desk.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .