International Museum Day May 18, 2026

You walk into a museum, and suddenly time shifts. A fossil hints at life millions of years ago. A gemstone reflects geological change you can"t see. That sense of connection is exactly what International Museum Day, created in 1977 by the International Council of Museums, aims to celebrate.

© Colm Keating/Tandem Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

Sunlight turning silver to gold
This museum sets the prairie on fire
May 18, 2024International Museum Day
May 18, 2025International Museum Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jul. 6, 2025Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, United States
May 28, 2026Old city wall of Hwaseong Fortress, Suwon, South Korea
A window to the Pacific
Nov. 28, 2023Giving Tuesday
Nov. 13, 2024Sea lion in a kelp forest, Baja California, Mexico
Dec. 13, 2023Svolvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Feb. 27, 2025International Polar Bear Day
Jan. 15, 2024Northern Lights
Jan. 12, 2026Eurasian otter and pup, Estonia
May 9, 2026Skradinski Buk Waterfall, Krka National Park, Croatia
Mar. 26, 2026Logan Creek Suspension Bridge, West Coast Trail, British Columbia
A blue-tiful island
What are these ancient animals?
May 10, 2024Canadian Tulip Festival
Aug. 2, 2024Banff National Park, Alberta
Sep. 21, 2023International Day of Peace
Jan. 30, 2026Winterlude begins
Jun. 26, 2025Horse Head Rock, New South Wales, Australia
Oct. 8, 2023World Octopus Day
Aug. 3, 2024Three Natural Bridges, Wulong National Park, China
Dec. 26, 2025Boxing Day
Poetry in suspense
A glimpse of the grandest of canyons
Apr. 23, 2024World Book Day
Mar. 9, 2025Daylight saving time begins
Apr. 28, 2024El Capitan in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, USA
Feb. 21, 2026Red fox, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, United States
Jul. 18, 2024Coral Reef Awareness Week
Jun. 13, 2024Registan Square, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Little Island, Big Sea