International Museum Day – May 18th

Δημοσιεύθηκε από τον/την

Ever since 1977 (when the International Council of Museums (ICOM) organised International Museum Day) museum lovers all over the world seize the opportunity to celebrate “the world’s natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible” museums host, on May 18th. The aim of this day is to raise awareness of the vital role of museums as a means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.

What better way is there to celebrate Museum Day than to take a trip down to a nearby museum (either alone or with friends)? Thousands of museums around the world are organising special activities!

A fun activity promoted by many cultural heritage institutions challenge people to recreate famous artworks from their own homes. A lot of people respond to this challenge using their imagination and creativity with everyday objects.

Have a look at some imaginative interpretations of famous works of art:

Here is a list of the World’s best Museums for Kids (or for those who are still kids at heart… 😉 ):

https://www.amexessentials.com/best-kids-museums-worldwide/

and Best Children’s Museums in Europe:

http://museums.eu/highlight/details/105472/best-childrens-museums-in-europe

 

Here are some of the weirdest museums:

https://www.theactivetimes.com/travel/weirdest-museums-around-world-gallery/slide-30

Which one would you like to visit?

 

But if visiting an actual museum is difficult, there is always the option technology has to offer: virtual tours!

Visit some of the following museums:

London Museums and Galleries:

The British Museum

The National Portrait Gallery

Tate Modern

The Courtauld Gallery of Art

The Globe Theatre

 

The Acropolis Museum

The Greek War of Independence in PLAYMOBIL Dioramas

Philhellenism Museum

Goulandris Natural History Museum

The Dali Theatre Museum in Catalonia, Spain

The American National Museum of Natural History

 

THE LIST OF ALL THE MUSEUMS AND MONUMENTS IN THE WORLD YOU CAN VISIT VIRTUALLY

E-BOOK: MUSEUMS & LANDMARKS ADVENTURES

 

And…

Here are my three own creations!!!

Shakespeare museum (more about Shakespeare here.)

Sherlock Holmes’ Museum

Famous talking portraits museum (soon to be filled with more other than the Mona Lisa! Have a look at my blog entry for more details.)

 

However you decide to celebrate Museum day, jump at this opportunity to find out about the history of the human race in a museum of your choice!

 

may-the-savings-be-with-you-lucasfilm-corrals-dozens-of-star-wars-day-deals

Star Wars Day

Δημοσιεύθηκε από τον/την

Star Wars Day is a day dedicated to the celebration of the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas in 1977. It is on May 4th (May the fourth, got the rest?) It is jokingly said: “May the 4th be with you”, in reference to the popular catchphrase in Star Wars: “May the Force be with you.” (Others, though, celebrate the Sith Lords and other villainous characters from the Star Wars series rather than the Jedi, on May 6, citing “Revenge of the Sixth” as a play on “Sith”!)

(The phrase “May the 4th be with you” dates back to at least 1979, on the day Margaret Thatcher was elected Britain’s first woman prime minister. Her party took out a newspaper ad in the London Evening News that said “May the Fourth be with you, Maggie. Congratulations.”)

It all started with the book “Dune” by Frank Herbert. First published in 1965, it is regarded as the main inspiration for Star Wars, an epic space opera written and directed by George Lucas. It premiered in 1977 and became an almost instant cult classic. Even today, almost 40 years later, Star Wars remains one of the most financially successful films of all time (earning over 2.5 billion dollars since the release of the first film).

Star Wars was a real game-changer, beginning a new era of special effect-packed motion pictures. For its time, and considering the limited budget, George Lucas pulled off a massive feat by creating advanced effects and filming impressive space sequences using only small-scale figures and setups.

The world was introduced to the Skywalker-family saga, and beloved characters like Han Solo, Yoda, Chewbacca, and perhaps the darkest villain of all time — Darth Vader.

If you are new to the Star Wars universe, here is the viewing order to watch the movies in:

The original trilogy: “A New Hope” (1977), “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), and “Return of the Jedi” (1983)

The prequel trilogy: “The Phantom Menace” (1999), “Attack of the Clones” (2002), and “Revenge of the Sith” (2005)

The sequel trilogy: “The Force Awakens” (2015), “The Last Jedi” (2017), and “The Rise of Skywalker”

Many Star Wars events are organized in different parts of the world, ranging from costume contests and Star Wars Day parties to movie marathons with friends, Star Wars trivia games, and even Star Wars themed snacks. Internet photo-meme sensations are spreading fast: first it was the Hadokening trend (a person sticks out their hand or pounds the ground a la street fighter and  a photo is snapped as the ‘enemies’ jump back) and then Vadering: a photo fad (a staged photo) that involves two people recreating the Star Wars scene in which Darth Vader uses the Force to grab an opposing character in a choke hold.

Hadokening

Vadering

You can visit my Star Wars Room (credits: S. Perkins)

For a better look:

Star Wars Day

For recipes, crafts, quizzes, games and much, much more visit: https://www.starwars.com/community

Some pics from my last visit to Madam Tussaud’s with a few of my favourite Star Wars characters: