As darkness falls on May 14th, Britain's museums will fling open their doors. The cavernous turbine hall of the Tate Modern, which is simultaneously celebrating its tenth birthday, will be filled with music, art and film shows. Indian culture and music will flood the National Portrait Gallery. The curtains will be drawn at Apsley House and chandeliers will twinkle. Curators at the Grant Museum of Zoology at University College London will lead torch-lit tours of its exhibits：skeltons, mounted animals and specimens preserved in fluid will cast flickering shadows on the walls. Beyond the capital, York Minster will admit night-time callers and visitors to Bristol's suspension bridge will be given a tour of its illuminations.
゛Museums at night゛ will run for three evenings. The aim is to attract a new crowd to stately homes, cathedrals, art galleries and collections, as wall as to present their contents in a new light to those already familiar with them. It forms part of an initiative started in France in 2005： many other European countries will open their meseums on the night of May 15th. Its debut in Britain last year attracted some 34,000 people to more than 150 events across the country.
Over the past few years, museums have been devising ever more eye-catching ways to entice visitors through their doors. Audio guides are now ubiquitous, and plush shops selling fancy gifts abut smart cafes and restaurants. Many museums have extended opening hours towards the end of the week, giving workers nailed by day to their desks or shopfloors to access on Thursday evenings, for example. Others dress up their guides in period costumes to tell the story of their prized displays. And public interest is easily aroused. When the government decide in 2001 to make entry to state-owned museums free, visits soared and have since climbed further, reaching 40m in the most recent financial year.
One of the most ambitious attempts to attract new visitor was concocted by Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum. ゛A History of the World in 100 Objects゛, a BBC radio series written and presented by him, examines the development of mankind by looking at objects in the museum's collection. It is bringing in the crowds, the museum says. Fans in Britain and abroad will be glad to know that, after a painfully long pause, the next lot of episodes is ready to start rolling again on May 17th.
