THE National Science and Media Museum, which faced closure four years ago, has seen visitor numbers rise by a third in the past year.

The centre welcomed 362,000 people through its doors between April and December 2017, which is 90,000 more visitors than it saw for the same period in 2016.

Director Jo Quinton-Tulloch said the turnaround in the museum’s fortunes felt “amazing” and added that it is partly down to the “passionate and determined” staff.

She said: “We are delighted. We were expecting it to be a good year but we have exceeded expectations.

“So many people are coming back to the museum and having a good time while they are here.”

She added that data shows that the site has seen an increase in new visitors as well as regular and lapsed visitors.

Arts Minister John Glen MP took a tour of the museum yesterday and congratulated Ms Quinton-Tulloch on the centre’s “fantastic success”.

He said: “I think a lot of work has been done to restore the reputation and credibility of this museum and by refocussing it around science and media they have achieved a great deal.

“The visitor numbers speak for themselves. To increase by a third in a year is remarkable and a tribute to the 80 members of staff who work here.”

Mr Glen looked around the exhibitions and said one of this favourite attractions was the interactive sound bite, where visitors can bite a metal rod while putting their fingers in their ears and hear a tune through the vibrations on their teeth.

After having a go himself, he added: “For young people, that is really inspiring.

“It’s nice to see a museum with such a range of exhibitions.

“I’m impressed with the imaginative and clever way that the director here has put together some very interesting collections on subjects everybody is interested in.”

Mr Glen added that he enjoyed the photography exhibition and said the partnership with the BFI allows students to view archive material that is not available on the internet.

He said the city can look forward to exciting future developments and revealed that he has already been “lobbied hard” by Shipley MP Philip Davies for the area to benefit from the £15million Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund.

The museum hosted Tim Peake’s Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft until November, which Ms Quinton-Tulloch said had helped boost visitor numbers.

She added that there has also been an increase in school trips to the centre.