THOUSANDS of Scots will soon have the chance to see if the Hollywood comedy Night at the Museum was accurate in claiming exhibits come to life when the public go home and the lights go out.

Scores of venues across Scotland will later this month open their doors after hours as part of a burgeoning Europe-wide event called Museums at Night.

The scheme began in France as La Nuit des Musees and was adopted in the UK in 2009. Only a handful of British museums took part in the first year but since then the numbers joining in have increased rapidly.

In Scotland, where the special event coincides with the opening day of the May 18-20 Festival of Museums weekend, the number of institutions involved has doubled since last year, from 21 to 42. In total, 500 British museums from Caithness to Cornwall will open their doors to nocturnal visitors.

"It's an opportunity for museums, galleries, libraries, archives and historic sites to do something different, to open up after hours and attract a new crowd for one weekend in the year," said Nick Stockman of Culture 24, the arts body co-ordinating the scheme in the UK.

"It definitely gives people a real thrill and a buzz to go round a venue that normally wouldn't be open, to be given a special behind-the-scenes peek. And if an institution opens at night, with the lights coming on and dusk falling, it adds a special atmosphere."

As well as walks, talks and behind-the-scenes tours, there are more esoteric delights in store. At the Caithness Horizons museum in Thurso, for instance, they'll be serving glow-in-the-dark jelly and "radioactive" punch as they delve into the area's nuclear legacy.

Meanwhile, Paisley Museum and Coats Observatory has been chosen as one of only three places outside France to take part in a special event run by the French Space Agency. The others are in Rome and Liege. "It's a bit of a coup for us," said the Observatory's John Pressly.

A French astrophysicist will join Mr Pressly in giving a talk and demonstration entitled Seeing The Invisible. It will draw on the museum's rich collection of astronomical instruments, many of which were bought by members of the acquisitive Coats family who made their fortune from textiles.

Visitors to the weekend event will also be able to view Saturn through the observatory telescope.

In Edinburgh, meanwhile, 2000 people will attend a late-night event at the National Museum of Scotland which promises special "installations" and "pop-up surprises". Those who want to, can also experience the museum's new exhibition Fascinating Mummies. Others can listen to a performance by fast-rising Scottish band Django Django.

Just over half of Museums at Night events are free – the Edinburgh one isn't, and the £10 tickets sold out a month ago, proof of the growing popularity of the after-hours scheme.

Sleepovers for children have also proven popular. The famous Roman Baths in Bath, Pendennis Castle in Cornwall and the royal dockyard at Chatham in Kent have all held them in the past, and this year for the first time some lucky youngsters will bed down for the night in the British Museum in London.

A study undertaken last year for Culture 24 showed 35% of visitors who attended a Museums at Night event then went on to visit other heritage venues afterwards.

Moreover, 5% of attendees said it was their first visit to a cultural event.