Museums reaching whole communities: record figures in Edinburgh and Manchester 7 Dec 2017

Two NMDC member museums have reported significant rises in visitor numbers. The National Museum of Scotland attracted two million visitors for the first time, tripling the number of visitors compared to a decade ago when its major redevelopment began. The museum is now the most popular outside London.   Manchester Museum has also crossed a significant boundary, receiving half a million visitors in the last year, a rise from 160,000 visitors a decade ago. The museum bucks the national trend by attracting a far more socially representative visitor group than average: almost 50% are from C2DE backgrounds, 25% are BME and 10% come from some of the most socially deprived areas in Manchester. Director Dr Nick Merriman said “the whole Museum team has worked very hard over the last decade to support the University’s Social Responsibility agenda by both increasing and broadening our audiences. It is very pleasing that the figures are showing what progress we have made.” BBC