Museums Bring Tourists

One of the keys to creating tourism with a museum is to find a topic with wide appeal. A museum of local history, for instance, would not stand alone as a tourist destination.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, which opened in August, honors a part of history that is both important to the Cincinnati area where it is located and has a wider audience.

The idea of an of an Underground Railroad museum, perhaps a traveling museum, was first suggested at a meeting of the Cincinnati chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The idea grew from there and the center ended up raising $60 million from private donations (there were a number of celebrity donors) and $50 million from public sources, including the Department of Education.

http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues04/dec04/free.html

http://www.freedomcenter.org