VISITOR numbers at Experience Barnsley have passed the 20,000 mark - just five weeks after its official opening.
People have flocked to the Town Hall-based museum to see the town's history and culture, with almost 1,700 filling the galleries on the first Saturday after its June 27 opening.
Cllr Roy Miller, cabinet spokesperson for Development, Environment and Culture, said: "People are flocking to see the new museum and having this major new attraction in Barnsley has provided a real boost to the town.
"On Sundays, previously, the town centre was usually quiet, but now people come and enjoy Experience Barnsley."
The museum has been supported by just over £2.6million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
Thousands of objects, stories and photographs have been donated by local people, organisations and other museums.
Cllr Miller added: "The extra visitor numbers and renewed interest in Barnsley’s history and culture has also benefited the wider town centre, including the markets and surrounding shopping area.
"Whether you’re interested in football, fashion, the borough’s industrial story or how stone-age ancestors lived, there is something for everyone."
