One hundred museums throughout Croatia will celebrate International Museum Day on May 18 with open-air exhibitions, interactive workshops, and, for the first time, gastronomic events in streets and squares around the country held on May 13-20.

This year’s event is being held under the theme: Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition, said Toncika Cukrov, the custodian of the Museum-Information Centre (MDC) which initiated the event in Croatia.

Several museums are participating for the first time with the aim of opening up to the public and including visitors in interactive communication, she explained.

Museums will attempt to respond to the challenge of socially responsible action and active participation in resolving the problems of today, like creating an inclusive and tolerant society, preserving the biosphere and sustainable farming as well as nurturing cultural heritage for future generations.

The projects that will be presented are intended for a broader public, children, families, disabled persons and senior citizens. It is significant that museums will come out of their walls on International Museum Day and appear in public spaces – in city streets, squares and on the islands.

A major attraction in Zagreb as part of the Museum Outside the Museum event, will be held in the city’s main square. Organised by the Croatian Natural History Museum, it features a replica of a Theropoda dinosaur which lived in present-day Istria region 135 million years ago.