University Museum Groningen smashes the 2022 annual visitor record in September!

The University Museum is on the rise - or should we say a steep incline? Visitor numbers are growing thick and fast, causing the museum to shatter its own annual visitor record already! Last weekend, the 20,000th visitor crossed the museum threshold, breaking the previous record of 30 December 2022.

Visitor record during Zpannend Zernike science festival

Last Saturday, the University Museum participated in the free science festival Zpannend Zernike, part of the national Science Weekend. During Zpannend Zernike, where children are introduced to science, the 20.000th visitor was welcomed with a delicious cake. Never before has the museum welcomed so many people in just nine months.

Lars Hendrikman, newly appointed director of the University Museum, is elated: “These excellent figures are of course due to all the hard work of the past years, and are worth a compliment to the employees. It is a great welcome gift for a new director. We hope to continue the upward trend and to invest accordingly in the museum and the public. On behalf of the University of Groningen, and with Studium Generale and Usva, the University Museum aims to make science and culture accessible to a broad audience.”

Events and the Phallus exhibition

Recently, the museum focuses on events for a variation of target groups. During the latest Museum Night on 9 September, the University Museum attracted more than 2,100 visitors. Since January, the University Museum offers extra activities for children every Sunday afternoon and during the school holidays. The traveling Ghent University Museum (GUM) exhibition Phallus: Norm and Form is a true crowd pleaser and elicits many enthusiastic responses. This exciting exhibition will be on display until 25 February 2024.

Future plans

The University Museum is certainly not planning on slowing down soon. There will be new workshops for children in October, each focusing on a Groningen scientist. For example, children can create ecosystems in the spirit of pioneering biologist Jantina Tammes. In honor of History Month, the museum organizes a pub quiz on science in Groningen. Those with a strong stomach can enjoy extra lectures and tours of the anatomical theater, and an additional programme for the Phallus exhibition is sure to please those interested in gender and sexuality.

Did you know students and employees of the UG and the UMCG can visit the University Museum for free? We are open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 5pm.