May 18 is International Museum Day with special events being held in museums across the globe.

Each year since 1977, staff in museums have been using International Museum Day to raise public awareness of the vital role museums play in society.

A different theme is chosen each year by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). This year’s theme is Museums and Intangible Heritage, an important area to be explored in the years ahead.

Jacques Perot, President of ICOM, says: "The theme of this 26th edition of International Museum Day is of capital importance to museums, which must play a part in preserving and protecting the intangible forms of our common heritage from the real threat of cultural homogenisation."

Photo: the Irish Railway Collection Gallery at Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. Courtesy of Ulster Folk and Transport Museum

Museums traditionally collect, conserve and display physical objects from the past. Perot points out that it is also important to give attention to the practices, ideas, knowledge and skills associated with these physical objects.

Various events are going on all over the world to mark this occasion and special exhibitions are on in the UK for Museums and Galleries Month. There will be free entry to museums in many countries.

Malta is holding a seminar with presentations on Maltese intangible heritage, also commemorating the country’s accession to the EU.

In Hong Kong, a special exhibition at the Hong Kong Science Museum will concentrate on traditional herbal medicine.

In Ulster, guest speaker Richard Gibbon OBE will share his passion for railways in the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum’s award-winning gallery, the Irish Railway Collection.

Photo: Transport Museum's across the UK are pulling out all the stops this may. Courtesy London's Transport Museum

Lloyd Grossman, Chairman of the Campaign for Museums and Chairman of the 24 Hour Museum, says: "this week we celebrate International Museum Day, which inspired the first Museums Week in 1996.

"Since then Museums and Galleries Month has developed into a major UK-wide promotion recognising the importance that museums and galleries play in our lives. May is a great time to discover a new museum or gallery on a weekend trip or day out with friends or family."

The theme for Museums and Galleries Month 2004 is Travel and the Art of Travelling.

If you want to find out more about International Museum Day, click on this link. For a list of the events in Museums and Galleries Month, click here.