The year 2023 was Heureka's fifth busiest ever in the science center's 34-year history. There were almost 348,000 visitors last year, while the average calculated since the opening year is slightly more than 275,000 annual visitors.
The number of visitors in 2023 has only been exceeded Four times before: in addition to the opening year in 1989, in 2001 the Dinosaur Family Life, in 2013 Body Worlds and in 2019 Giant Dinosaurs exhibitions were exceptionally successful, when the number of visitors exceeded the 400,000 mark.
After the corona pandemic, Heureka's visitor numbers have been high for more than a year and a half. In addition, the increase in the popularity of the Museum Card has also supported the development of Heureka's visitor numbers. Heureka was in seventh place on the list of the most popular Museum Card destinations in 2023.
The popularity is also reflected in the research results. Heureka once again reached the top positions in the annual Taloustikkumas Leisure Centers Images 2023 survey. Based on the combined effect of recommendation probability and image factors, Heureka was number one, and measured in terms of overall rating, it was in second place out of a total of 31 examined domestic leisure centers. In the survey, the respondents were also asked which leisure destination they would prefer to go to in the next year, if they could choose freely. Those who answered this thought that Heureka was the most attractive destination of all.
Last year, one of the attractions was the Power of Play exhibition that opened in February, which brought many families with children to the science center. In our time, the empowering effect of play speaks to families other than those with small children. Play and liberating togetherness produce mental well-being regardless of age. The exhibition is still open until January next year. On February 10, 2024, Heureka's first entirely self-produced space-themed exhibition Matkalla avaruustu opens, which is expected to attract many visitors in 2024 as well.
More than 30 million people in the world have already seen Heureka's exhibitions
In total, Heureka has been visited by more than 9.6 million visitors throughout the ages. Heureka Overseas Productions Ltd, a subsidiary of the Science Center Foundation, promotes Heureka's activities by renting and selling its exhibitions to other science centers around the world. Thanks to the export activity that started already in the opening year, Heureka's exhibitions have reached a total of more than 30 million audiences, as more than 20.4 million people have already seen exhibitions outside of Heureka.
More information:
Director of Communications and Services Heli Ainoa, heli.ainoa@heureka.fi, tel. 040 9015 295.
