Museums are living institutions that help create bonds between visitors, generations and cultures around the world. Museums are constantly facing changes that bring them to reconsider their traditional mission and to find new strategies to attract visitors towards more accessible collections. Thus many museums revamp the traditional methods of presentation of their collections in order to involve the community and to remain in touch with their public. The museum is an institution that preserves and communicates the past, yet it is grounded in the present. In its very essence, it is a link between the generations, as it allows present and future generations to better comprehend their origins and history. This theme also emphasizes the collaborations between museums worldwide and their importance for cultural exchanges and the knowledge of the world's cultures.
To celebrate the annual International Museum Day on May 18, admission to all the museums in Macao will be free throughout different dates in May. Each museum will prepare a series of special features and promotional activities in May to allow residents and tourists to feel the unlimited influence of the museums in the society. For details on the free admission and special activities, please refer to the attachments or visit the Museums of Macao portal (http://www.museums.gov.mo).
The Press Conference of the Carnival of the International Museum Day Macau was held on 24 April, 2014 at 3:30pm at the Macao Science Center. Present at the press ceremony were Assistant Chief of the Fire Department, Sam Ka Hou, Chief Curator of Communications Museum of Macao, Wong Kam Ian, Head of the Cultural Facilities Division of IACM, Loi Chi Pang, Acting Head of the Nature Conservation and Studies Division of IACM, Un Tai Wai, Director of Maritime Museum, Wu Chu Pang, Director of Macao Museum of Art, Chan Hou Seng, Vice Director of Tung Sin Tong Historical Archives Exhibition Hall, Lei Keng Lam, Director of the Macao Museum of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Chan Ieng Hin, Acting Head of Facilities Management Division of MGTO, Cheong Soc Fong and Head of the Education and Exhibits Department of Macao Science Center, Oscar Leong, who respectively introduced their activities. Seminars of International Museum Day, Macao 2014 will be held at the Communications Museum on May 2 and 3. Museum professionals and scholars from Hong Kong and Taiwan were invited to share their views on museums' hot topics with the audience. In the first seminar for museum professionals on May 2, Ms. SIT Karen, Chief Curator of Hong Kong Science Museum and Ms. PANG Maggie, Chief Manager of Film & Cultural Exchange, LSCD, Hong Kong will talk about "Old Topic, New Experience" and "Find a Way out of Conventional Marketing Approaches" respectively. For the open seminar held in the afternoon of May 3, Prof. CHOU Kung-shin, Ph.D., Formal Director of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Chair Professor, Graduate Institute of Museum Studies of Fu Jen Catholic University will talk about "Museum and Museum Education" and, Mr. CHAN Shing Wai, Head of Conservation Office, LCSD, Hong Kong, will talk about "Museum & Conservation – The Behind-the-Scene Vision".
The Macao International Museum Day Fair 2014 will be held on May 4, from 3pm to 6:30pm, at the Taipa Houses-Museum. To celebrate the most important joint event of the year, the organizers have invited many neighboring cultural institutions to participate, including 10 museums and cultural institutions from the Guangdong Province: Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics , Guangdong Folk Art Museum, Shenzhen Museum, The Opium War Museum, The Yuan Suihuan Memorial Park, The East River Column Memorial Museum, Dongguan Museum, Foshan Museum, The Memorial Museum of Generalissimo Sun Yat Sen's Mansion, Keyuan Museum, Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong Special Administration Region and its 19 subordinating museums, all of them are sending delegates to attend the event. The opening ceremony of the fair will be held at 3pm, and there will be a great variety of dynamic activities such as prize-giving interactive games and workshops in the fair. The Nature and Agrarian Museum will have a booth titled "Search of Migratory Birds – Observation of Birds in Wetland" and promote publications at concessionary prices. Tung Sin Tong Historical Archive Exhibition Hall will present film and interactive game. The Macao Museum of Art and the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao will provide three games "Take Happiness Home", "Contrast between Past and Present Days" and "Fortune Wheel of Treasure Puzzle" for those present at the event. The Grand Prix Museum and Wine Museum will provide the Macau Guia circuit simulator and the interactive game "Seeking Wine Museum" respectively. The Macao Science Center will present "The Cornstarch Fun Science Experiment" and "The Secret of the Digestive system Demonstration" to the public. The Maritime Museum will hold the "Workshop of Making Junk Model", while the Communications Museum will provide the interactive games "Message Decoding" and "Delivering through the City of Macao. The Fire Services Museum will organize a game focusing on the prevention of fire accidents. The Macao Museum will arrange "Cantonese Opera mask painting workshop for parents and children" and "Photographs with Children of Cantonese Opera". The Heritage Exhibition of a Traditional Pawnshop Business will host the game "The Secret of Macao Intangible Cultural Heritage". The Commemorative Gallery of the Macao Basic Law will set exhibition panels, and the Taipa Houses-Museum and the Museum of Taipa and Coloane History will present "Charming Portuguese Craft – Workshop on Decoupage", as well as the "Stories of Tea – workshop on Making 3-D Pop-Up Book with Exported Chinese Tea-themed Paintings".
In addition to the activities that illustrate the characteristics and interactivity of museums from Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao, the Fair will also include the drama "Macao Nostalgia", "Juveniles' Cantonese Opera Performance", children's Portuguese folk dance, Portuguese band "80&TAL", etc. There will also be lucky draws with fabulous prizes, including Tablet PC, digital cameras, book coupons, and Taiwan round-trip air tickets sponsored by TransAsia Airways. Free shuttle bus service will be scheduled as follows: Read attachment! The 19 organizers of the International Museum Day, Macao 2014 include: Natural and Agrarian Museum, Grand Prix Museum, Museum of the Holy House of Mercy, Tung Sin Tong Historical Archive Exhibition Hall, Heritage Exhibition of a Traditional Pawnshop Business, Fire Services Museum, Maritime Museum, Communications Museum of Macao, Museum of Taipa and Coloane History, Handover Gifts Museum of Macao, Lin Zexu Memorial Museum of Macao, Macao Science Center, Macao Tea Culture House, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial House in Macau, Commemorative Gallery of the Macao Basic Law, Macao Museum, Macao Museum of Art, Wine Museum and the Taipa Houses-Museum.
