RAMM welcomes millionth visitor

Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) welcomed its millionth visitor since its redevelopment last Friday 26 June.

Polly Hill, a student at Exeter College was treated to a special behind-the-scenes tour with Tony Eccles, the museum’s Curator of Ethnography who gave a special insight into some of the museum’s objects from the four corners of the world.

One of the objects in the museum’s store was an ancient Peruvian pot. Polly was photographed with the object as a special souvenir of her visit. She was also presented with a special one-off 3D printed version of the pot.

Polly was RAMM’s millionth visitor since museum’s reopening in 2011. She was greeted by Cllr Rosie Denham, Exeter City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economy and Culture.

As well as a tour behind the scenes, Polly also met technology experts from the Met Office’s Informatics Lab who have been working with RAMM to bring the latest 3D technology to scan and print some of the museum’s objects.

Since the museum reopened, it has been placed in the country’s top 20 regional museums and won a number of awards for excellence, education and tourism, including museum of the Year.

Cllr Denham said: "This is cause for celebration! The Museum is a place that we’re really proud of in Exeter. RAMM attracts audiences of all ages to see its fantastic collections and visiting exhibitions.

"We’re so lucky that we can see the work of national and international artists and have the opportunity to explore the fantastic collections of objects which help us to find out about our past and to learn about our culture and the cultures of places around the world.

"Welcoming our millionth visitor since the Museum’s redevelopment is a great achievement which shows how popular RAMM is.”

Polly Hill said: “I was really surprised to find out that I was the millionth visitor. I just came in for a little wander round but this was so much more. It’s brilliant. There’s so much here. You can spend so much time here. I like the art exhibitions and there are so many different exhibitions from all over the world and different times.”