Free child entry drives rise in holiday visits to Sydney museums

The NSW Government’s 'Kids FREE' initiative, launched in June this year, has driven a major increase in visitor numbers at the Australian Museum and Powerhouse Museum over the October school holidays.

Over 43,000 people visited the Powerhouse Museum with the number of children increasing four fold to 20,300 - up from 5,400 this time last year.

The Australian Museum had over 30,000 visitors representing close to 40% increase on last year. The number of children increased to 11,200 up from 8,300.

Commenting on the value of providing greater access to arts and culture, NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant stated "Kids FREE removes the barriers for families to engage in the wonders that exist inside our State’s museums."

Powerhouse Museum Director, Rose Hiscock, said the combination of great programs and affordable entry was having strong results for the Powerhouse.

Hiscock stated “our Minecraft-themed program really engaged kids with over 25,000 unique objects uploaded to the Museum’s virtual environment and kids posed for over 8,000 photos on the Minecraft green screens."

Australian Museum Executive Director and Chief Executive Kim McKay said it was great to see so many young families and children coming through the doors of the Australian Museum this school holidays to see the new Wild Planet exhibition.

McKay stated "the increase in the number of children visiting the Australian Museum demonstrates there is a real appetite for scientific discovery in the community – and we’re committed to promoting an understanding and appreciation of the world around us."

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