Check out this neat infographic on the impact of museums in the United States and beyond.
Some highlights:
- There are approximately 850 million visits each year to American museums, more than the attendance for all major league sporting events and theme parks combined (483 million in 2011). By 2006, museums already received an additional 524 million online visits a year just from adults, a number that continues to grow.
- Museums employ more than 400,000 Americans and directly contribute $21 billion to the U.S. economy each year and billions more through indirect spending by their visitors.
- Museums are considered a more reliable source of historical information than books, teachers or even personal accounts by relatives.
More museums facts at the AAM website.