On the evening of May 23, 2026, the National Museum of Lithuania (NML) will join the international Night of Museums initiative, inviting visitors into an after-hours cultural program spread across its branches. Beginning at 6 p.m., the museum’s spaces will fill with live storytelling, music, creative workshops, educational activities and immersive experiences designed to make history felt not only through sight, but through sound, smell and touch as well.

In Vilnius, History Becomes a Nighttime Experience

During the Night of Museum, all branches of the National Museum of Lithuania in Vilnius will remain open later than usual, offering free admission to permanent exhibitions alongside a special program created for the occasion.

At the Gediminas Castle Tower, visitors will not only be able to explore the site free of charge but also participate in a series of activities tailored specifically for the night. Families are invited to join the educational adventure “Mission: Iron Wolf”, where participants solve clues and unlock a mysterious chest. Short, fast-paced guided tours titled Stories From the Past will trace the origins of Vilnius, weaving together the city’s founding legends and the history of the Upper Castle.

Just below Gediminas Hill, at the Castellan’s House, the evening shifts into more experimental territory. Visitors will encounter the launch of the playful historical comic “The Six Values of Castellan Petras Nonhartas, or the Story of Six Pickled Cucumbers”, as well as the olfactory exhibition Liturgical Scents of Lithuanian Faiths, where history unfolds through aroma rather than text or image. Special tours devoted to witchcraft trials in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania will accompany scent tastings that invite guests to experience religious traditions through smell.

At the Old Arsenal, meanwhile, visitors will embark on a journey through the history of fire and light, exploring early hearths and the symbolic significance of fire in human life. Across town, at the Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall, history becomes tactile and kinetic through the educational activity “Arrow Through Time”, where guests can try their hand at archery. Nearby, the creative initiative “High Five for Ukraine” will encourage visitors to contribute to a collective artwork conceived as a symbolic gesture of solidarity.

From Japanese Indigenous Culture to Lithuanian Mythology

The House of Histories will carry visitors even farther afield. Interactive tours will introduce audiences to the culture of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of northern Japan, through live storytelling and hands-on creative activities. The evening’s program will also include the presentation of philosopher Gintautas Mažeikis’s book on Lilims, a concert by the Skriaudžiai ensemble “Kanklės”, and a series of guided tours examining Lithuanian mythology, the world of spirits and the construction of Lithuania’s image abroad.

At the Kazys Varnelis House-Museum, visitors will step into the exhibition “The Book Dragon: A Fantastic Story About the Beauty of Books”, a journey tracing the birth of books while exploring their layered meanings and enduring beauty as artistic objects.

Beyond the Capital: Performance Art and Living Music

The museum’s Night of Museums program extends beyond Vilnius, inviting audiences across Lithuania to encounter culture in strikingly different forms.

In the seaside resort town of Palanga, the Jonas Šliūpas Museum will host the performance “Roots Build a Nest” by artist Benas Šarka. The work blends theater, poetry and physical expression into a layered sensory experience intended to immerse audiences in an intense encounter with contemporary art.

The museum will also offer an interactive experience within the exhibition “Marija Švažienė: Tapestries and Paintings”, encouraging visitors to slow their pace and cultivate a more personal relationship with art. Surrounded by meditative sounds, viewers will experience the exhibition’s spatial tapestries as environments that stimulate both the senses and the imagination. Fragrant herbal meadow tea will accompany the experience.

Elsewhere, in Kudirkos Naumiestis, educators from the Vincas Kudirka Museum will guide visitors through the town on a historical walking tour. Through architecture, landmarks and the stories of influential figures who shaped Lithuanian national consciousness, the excursion seeks to evoke the spirit of the place and illuminate a formative period in the country’s path toward statehood.

Another stop on the night’s cultural route leads to the Jonas Basanavičius Birthplace Museum. There, visitors can join educational tours devoted to Basanavičius’s travels, meet artists, encounter the audiovisual installation “Es Humanus”, and attend a concert blending contemporary music with motifs drawn from folklore traditions.

All National Museum of Lithuania Night of Museums events beginning at 18:00 will be free of charge, though daytime exhibition visits will follow standard admission rules. Most events are open to all without registration, but some guided tours and educational activities have limited capacity and require advance booking.

For more information and registration details: click here.

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