Museum marks its millionth visitor

Swansea's National Waterfront Museum has welcomed its millionth visitor just four years after opening its doors.

Welcoming on average a quarter of a million visitors each year from across Swansea, Wales, Britain and beyond, the Museum has made its mark on the Welsh cultural map.

Visitors can explore the exciting human stories about innovation and industry in Wales now and over the past 300 years. There are 100 audio visual exhibits including 36 state-of-the-art interactive displays and some very large and now technologically obsolete objects from across Wales that include the world's first steam locomotive, a brick press and one of the very few surviving coal wagons.

It was a local Swansea family who became the Museum's celebrated millionth visitors.

The family, from St Thomas, were greeted by giant balloons to mark the occasion. Speaking about the Museum, Grandmother Chris Allen said: "It's a great place to bring the children and we regularly come along to the monthly Waterfront Nippers workshop; they love it."

Head of Museum Steph Mastoris presented the family with a souvenir goody bag including a collection of books written about the Museum and a gift voucher for the shop.

2009 has been one of the best performing years for the Museum. This summer alone (July to September) saw visitor figures reaching almost 85,000 compared to last year's 68,000.

Speaking about this special occasion, Steph said: "Welcoming the arrival of our one-millionth visitor is a real honour for us all at the National Waterfront Museum.

"As well as presenting visitors with a fascinating free day out, the Museum plays a key role as one of Swansea's major attractions that adds to the city's cultural offering and plays an important part in its regeneration.

"We're delighted to be providing the quality of exhibitions and events as well as levels of service that encourage visitors to come back to over and over again.

"This achievement is a fitting way to mark the end of an excellent year and it's now all systems go to welcome our two-millionth visitor."

Cllr Graham Thomas, Swansea Council's Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism, said: "The National Waterfront Museum has been an outstanding success since it was opened and the visitor figures are testament to its appeal.

"The Museum offers an experience that's both entertaining and educational and the building has become an iconic part of Oystermouth Road and our stunning coastline.

"The National Waterfront Museum combines with facilities such as Swansea Museum, The Dylan Thomas Centre and the Glynn Vivian Gallery to contributing a great deal towards Swansea's thriving cultural community."