CARTERSVILLE, Georgia USA /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Tellus Science Museum welcomed its 500,000th visitor on Friday, July 15, 2011, less than three years after opening its doors.
The 500,000th visitor was Danielle Ivanov, 11, who, along with her mother and grandparents, was visiting from Florida.
“It was cool,” Ivanov said. “I’m excited.”
Danielle’s grandfather said he knew there was a chance they could be milestone visitors.
“On the way over, I was saying it could be us,” said Gary Hankins. “But I was still shocked.”
Tellus opened in 2009 and became a destination for families and schools looking for science and fun. Tellus is a Smithsonian Institute affiliate and features gems, minerals, fossils, transportation science and hands-on activities. The museum averages nearly 200,000 visitors a year, a quarter of which are school students.
“We are delighted to have had such tremendous support from our community,” said Tellus Executive Director Jose Santamaria. “There is so much to do and see, we look forward to our next half-million visitors.”
Tellus has been busy in 2011 with several big events scheduled for the year including the Night at the Museum 3 and the mineral symposium in August and Heavy Metal in Motion in October. Last week, Tellus held a launch party for the final liftoff of NASA’s space shuttle program.
“We offer a wide variety of events and new exhibits that keep visitors coming back. This is one of the keys to our success,” Santamaria said.
Tellus is a 120,000 square foot museum located in Cartersville, just north of Atlanta. For more information about Tellus Science Museum call 770-606-5700 or visit www.tellusmuseum.org or www.facebook.com/tellusmuseum.