LIVERPOOL.- More than 250,000 people have visited the Museum of Liverpool since it opened four weeks ago, equivalent to the capacities of Anfield or Goodison Park 5 to 6 times over and more than half the population of the city as a whole. Crowds have flocked to the new Museum with an average of 8,300 people a day through the doors. The Museum which is free entry opened on 19 July and tells the story of the city and its people. Museum bosses had predicted 78,000 visitors in the first month of opening, but the response from the public has been three times that.

Janet Dugdale, Director of the Museum of Liverpool said: ”The visitor figures are staggering. We are thrilled with the success of the new Museum. To get a quarter of a million people through the doors in the first month is fantastic. There is a real buzz of excitement in the Museum and it’s so nice to see so many people enjoying themselves.”

Liverpool FC legend Jamie Carragher visited recently and was impressed with what he saw. He said: "Being born and bred in this city I was keen to visit the new Museum of Liverpool as soon as it opened. I really enjoyed the Wondrous Place gallery with all the sporting memorabilia. The film about Merseyside football is very special and really captures what it means to go to the match and be a Red or a Blue.

"I took the whole family and we all had a great time. I think the new museum will be massively popular not just with Merseysiders but also with tourists and visitors to the city too."

The Museum features four main galleries and a number of smaller gallery spaces. Three of the four main galleries are now open: Wondrous Place, The People’s Republic and Global City. Also open is Little Liverpool, a dedicated gallery for children aged six and under, the stunning Atrium space and Skylight Gallery. More galleries will open later this year.

The diverse range of exhibits on display in Phase One includes:
*The stage where John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met in 1957
*Ben Johnson’s Liverpool Cityscape
*10 metre-long (30ft) Chinese Ceremonial Dragon
*The first Ford Anglia off the Ford’s Halewood production line in 1963

*Victoria Cross medal awarded to Sergeant David Jones of the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment on 3 September 1916 for brave leadership while serving in the First World War at Guillemont France

*360˚ immersive films about football on Merseyside and The Beatles
*Life-size 5.5m (18ft) Liver Bird
*Cycling legend Chris Boardman’s famous Lotus Sport bike
*Model design for Lutyens’ enormous Cathedral of Dreams
*Reconstruction of typical court housing
*Items from the Everton Collection Charitable Trust