North Herts Museum in Hitchin is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month, having drawn in nearly 125,000 visitors since it opened.
The council-owned museum, which has featured 50 exhibitions, is planning celebrations throughout the month.
A commemorative display panel in the museum café exhibits all the posters from the varied exhibitions since the museum opened on July 6, 2019.
These exhibitions range from prestigious loan exhibitions, like Rembrandt in Print in 2020, to popular children's shows featuring Paddington, Peter Rabbit, The BFG, and The Tiger Who Came to Tea.
The museum has also exhibited its own collections, along with those from the community, including My Covid Portraits, From Windrush to North Herts and Home is Where the Hert is.
The most popular exhibits have been Paddington and The BFG, drawing in more than 9,000 visitors each.
The Rembrandt in Print exhibit would have likely topped this, had it not been closed due to Covid restrictions.
Cllr Tamsin Thomas, executive member for enterprise and arts, said: "We have had a great first five years, despite Covid, with 50 amazing exhibitions, honouring the legacy of our founding collections from the former Letchworth and Hitchin museums.
"North Herts Museum and its curatorial team are a fabulous resource for our communities and visitors to the area.
"We have such a rich and diverse history, it’s important to preserve and showcase it for generations to come.
"We love being able to showcase external collections as well, providing our residents the chance to see touring exhibitions on their doorstep.
"And it is fantastic that our in-house team provide a rich programme of talks and events.
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"I am particularly proud of the work that the museum team has done to take our extensive collection out across the district through our schools’ programme and other outreach programmes – to care homes and through various groups and societies."
The museum's current exhibition, Hitchin’s Toy Story, showcasing locally designed toys celebrated worldwide, will run from July 13 to September 22.
The North Herts Museum, located on Brand Street, is open Tuesday - Saturday from 10.30am-4.30pm and Sunday 11am-3pm, and is free to enter.
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