EDINBURGH.- The newly redeveloped National Museum of Scotland has attracted over 100,000 visitors in the first six days since it opened to the public last Friday morning. Prior to opening, Museum staff predicted they might achieve the 100,000 mark within two weeks of opening, but that target was smashed in less than half the time expected, with the first week’s tally expected to reach around 120,000. Visitors have come from far and near, with locals and families well-represented in addition to increasing volumes of tourists arriving for the Edinburgh Festivals.

Gordon Rintoul, Director, National Museums Scotland, said:

“The number of visitors we have had so far is absolutely fantastic. We were always confident that there would be a high level of interest in our transformed Museum, but to get over 100,000 people in less than a week really has surpassed all of our expectations.”

The Museum reopened last Friday, 29 July, after a major three-year redevelopment. A spectacular opening ceremony on Chambers Street was followed by nearly 6,000 people passing through the doors in the first hour of opening. In all, 22,000 visitors packed the Museum on the opening day – over double the amount expected - and there has been a constant stream of visitors ever since.

The tally went through the 100,000 mark late on Wednesday afternoon. The 100,000th visitors were the Vass family from Gorebridge, Ian, Kim and children Riannon, aged 10 and Layla, aged 6. Rachel Sim from the Museum’s Visitor Services team presented the family with a Museum goodie bag, including badges, postcards, a voucher for the shop and a year’s family membership.

The Natural World galleries, including animals such as the life-sized T. rex, a great white shark and giraffe, and the Discoveries gallery, featuring the Millennium Clock in addition to the world’s oldest surviving colour television and Alexander Fleming’s Nobel Prize medal are proving extremely popular, while the Adventure Planet and Imagine galleries are proving a hit with younger visitors.