Thursday is International Museum Day, an annual celebration coordinated by the International Council of Museums.
About International Museum Day
International Museum Day was established in 1977 to raise global public awareness of the role museums play in the development of society. In 2016, more than 35,000 museums in 145 countries participated.
In honor of International Museum Day, here are 3 of my favorite museums for kids.
Smithsonian – Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian isn’t one museum but 19, all with free admission. Ranging from the National Zoo to the Air and Space Museum, this complex is known as “the nation’s attic” and holds more than 130 million items in its halls.
Vatican Museums – The Vatican
It’s hard to describe how ancient Rome feels. The name itself denotes centuries of history. There’s a lot to see in the second smallest sovereign state in the world. Saint Peter is buried under the Basilica. A tour of the Vatican museums includes masterpieces from the Renaissance and antiquity. It ends in the Sistine Chapel, famously painted by Michelangelo.
American Sign Museum
The American Sign Museum in Cincinnati houses an impressive array of signs. The collection demonstrates the history of signs in Amercan, from early trade signs and goldleaf signs of the early 1900s up to the neon age and the plastics used in the 1950s. There’s a free tour, which I highly recommend. The finale of the tour is a re-created American main street. This was a very cool place to stop. Big hat tip to Atlas Obscura, which is where I heard about it.
