In the UK not much used to happen on Museums Day until the Campaign for Museums organised Museums Week in 1994. It has since become an annual event and this year will take place from Saturday 15 May to Sunday 23 May. It's the biggest museums event in the world (they hope 1,000 museums will take part this year) and is about raising the profile of museums and getting people to think about just how much their local museums have to offer, as well as encouraging them to discover new ones. It's up to each museum to take advantage of the promotion Museums Week offers. The themes this year are Food, Travel and Treasures. There is also an initiative linked to the National Year of Reading: Design a Label. This aims to improve the standard and understanding of labelling and captions in museums and galleries. It will lead to a set of guidelines and museums are encouraged to set up projects involving the public in designing and writing labels during Museums Week. They also plan to have a Caption Competition on the Museums Week website in May. The Campaign for Museums is starting a schools initiative over three years encouraging schools and museums to work together to develop Museums in the Classroom, School, or in the museum itself. This year they will produce an education pack for schools (and museums) aimed at primary schools and pre-school groups with guidance and examples of involving children in setting up their own museums. The pack will be launched in Museums Week and distributed to schools during the Summer and Autumn. A website version will be available in May. Once up and running, schools and museums in joint projects will be invited to submit entries for the most interesting efforts and these will be presented in 2000. There will be a series of one day workshops around the UK to provide museums with the knowledge and tools to market their Museums Week event successfully. More leaflets will be produces this year (to Tourist Information Centres, libraries, museums) and the Radio Times and BBC Regional Radio are involved. The Campaign for Museums and Engage (National Association for Gallery Education) successfully bid for a Millennium Festival grant to hold Museums and Galleries Month in May 2000. There is much more information on the website about all of this: http://www.museumsweek.co.uk As an ordinary museum-goer I feel very enthusiastic about Museums Week. In the past there has been too much complacency about our wonderful museums and galleries and so many organisations in the museums world in the UK all with their different view points. The Campaign for Museums seems able to pull them together with a common aim but it is still up to each museum to make the most of the opportunities and ideas presented. Best wishes, Rosemary Silvester [log in to unmask]