HUNTINGTON, NY.- Have you ever wondered if the paintings come alive after the Museum closes? You just may find out the answer to this and many other questions if you join The Heckscher for the first annual La Nuit des Musées…The Night of Museums! All across Europe, on the evening of May 16, museums offer FREE admission and open their doors for an exciting variety of funfilled, creative and free activities and tours for adults, families, and children. The Heckscher is one of only a few museums across the United States to participate in this wonderful, international event. Participants can look forward to a late evening of art activities, music, film, food, and more.

The La Nuit des Musées initiative began in 2005 in France, and has grown to incorporate thousands of museums throughout France and Europe, and now in the United States. This event aims to attract a new audience, perhaps unaccustomed to visiting a museum. The organizations participating in this initiative believe culture is for everyone and feel that longer opening hours, free entry and imaginative entertainment are excellent ways to reach this wider audience, especially young people. Those who participate in this initiative can discover a fascinating new world of knowledge and cultural treasures that will enable them to better know and better understand the world around them.

“La Nuit des Musées is a smart and successful initiative in Europe,” says The Heckscher’s Executive Director Erik Neil. “I am so proud that The Heckscher is one of the few museums in the United States that has chosen to participate in this program. I feel we have come in on the ground floor of an initiative poised to spread throughout the world. Exploring a museum at night is something that captures everyone’s imagination – from the avid museum goer to those who have never even been inside a museum.”