Tellus Gets its 500,000th Visitor

welcomed its 500,000th visitor this morning, less than 3 years after opening its doors.

The 500,000th visitor was Danielle Ivanov, 11, who along with her mother and grandparents were visiting from Florida.

“It was cool,” Ivanov said. “I’m excited.”

Danielle’s grandfather said he knew there was a chance they could be milestone visitors.

“On the way over, I was saying it could be us,” said Gary Hankins. “But I was still shocked.”

Tellus, a Smithsonian Institute affiliate, opened in 2009. It features gems, minerals, fossils, transportation science and hands-on activities. The museum averages nearly 200,000 visitors a year, a quarter of which are school students.

“We are delighted to have had such tremendous support from our community,” said Executive Director Jose Santamaria. “There is so much to do and see, we look forward to our next half-million visitors.”

Tellus has been busy in 2011 with several big events scheduled for the year, including the Night at the Museum 3 and a mineral symposium in August and Heavy Metal in Motion in October. Last week Tellus held a launch party for the of NASA’s space shuttle program.

“We offer a wide variety of events and new exhibits that keep visitors coming back. This is one of the keys to our success,” Santamaria said.

For more on Tellus, click here.