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Out of this world: UFO Museum in Roswell reaches 5 million visitors
ROSWELL — The International UFO Museum & Research Center in Roswell is celebrating an out-of-this-world milestone: 5 million visitors.
A father and daughter from Roswell became the lucky visitors when they entered the museum earlier Nov. 21, the Roswell Daily Record reported.
Chris and Hannah McDonald received balloons, memorabilia and a lifetime family museum membership.
Museum Executive Director Karen Jaramillo said it was a surprise that Roswell residents brought them to 5 million because so many guests are from out of state.
The UFO Museum, which opened in 1992, draws over 220,000 visitors each year, Jaramillo said.
Roswell has been a hub for people fascinated by space and extraterrestrial phenomena since the 1947 so-called Roswell Incident.
Something crashed at what was then the J.B. Foster ranch, with the U.S. Army announcing it had recovered a "flying disc" but later saying the debris was merely the remnants of a high-altitude weather balloon.
Speculation about extraterrestrials and government cover-ups has existed ever since, inspiring books, movies and TV shows.
An annual UFO Festival, operating since 1996, brings as many as 40,000 people to Roswell, according to a city report.
