Thousands of people flocked to the National Media Museum to celebrate a milestone occasion.

The closure-threatened attraction celebrated its 30th anniversary in style at the weekend.

Museum bosses said visitor numbers had nearly doubled during the two-day event with people enjoy a packed itinerary of children’s activities, special shows and guided tours.

Some brought cards for staff, while others signed a giant card during their visit.

Free cupcakes and balloons were also handed out, and children were able to make their own VIP passes for the museum’s anniversary party.

Visitors also got a chance to glimpse some of the museum’s hidden treasures.

There were ‘behind the scenes’ tours of Insight, the collections and research centre which holds some of the 3.5 million objects not on permanent display.

Children enjoyed talks on the Cottingley Fairies – photographs taken in a garden only four miles from the museum which baffled the world.

And in a cross-over between celebrations at the museum and the Bradford Festival going on in nearby City Park, science comedy act Punk Science performed a special show about the National Media Museum.

Jo Quinton Tulloch, head of the museum, said: “It has been wonderful to see so many people enjoying our birthday activities at the museum this weekend.

“We have greeted far more people than we expected, which just goes to show how much the museum means to the people of Bradford.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of birthday cards we have received and would like to say a big thank you to everyone for helping make our 30th birthday so special.

“We are very proud of what we’ve achieved over the last 30 years and hope that this weekend has highlighted just how amazing our collections are.”

On June 16, 1983, the National Museum of Photography opened in Bradford, soon becoming the National Museum of Photog-raphy, Film and Television.

In the same year, the museum became home to Europe’s first permanent Imax theatre, and the UK’s largest cinema screen at the time.

Its inaugural film was the 1976 documentary of flight, To Fly!

Over the celebratory weekend, audiences were treated to repeat showings of the film, which had been specially remastered for the occasion.

Dick Vaughan, Imax technical and programme manager, and the longest serving member of staff, said: “I was here in 1983, unpacking the film reels of To Fly! and projecting it to that very first audience, the first to see Imax in the UK.”

Meanwhile, a group of former directors of museums run by the Science Museum Group has sent a letter to a national newspaper outlining why they must stay open.

The letter to The Times, signed by Colin Philpott, director of the National Media Museum from 2004-2012, and Colin Ford, director from 1983-1993, and a number of other former directors, said the sites are all ‘success stories’ and are vital to their host cities.

“We urge the trustees of the Science Museum Group and the Department for Media, Culture and Sport to consider the track record and the value of these museums to the north of England and to ensure that a solution is found to ensure they all stay open,” it stated.