Perth Museum is about to celebrate its first anniversary.
And as numbers go, it has been a successful start.
Since it opened on March 30, 2024, bosses say 250,000 people have passed through its doors.
VisitScotland has awarded the £27m attraction five-star status.
And Perth and Kinross Council says there have been more than 5.5 million visits to Perth city centre in the past 12 months.
That’s 2m more than the previous year.
But there’s only so much figures can tell you.
What about the people who have steered Perth Museum through that remarkable first year?
Perth Museum anniversary now part of City Hall story
Ellidh McGlashan, 25, is one of 30 employees, and she has been there since before day one.
She started in the museum cafe and moved over to assistant front-of-house team leader at the end of the year.
Perth born and bred Eilidh studied French and Spanish at St Andrews University and says she’s thrilled she’s getting a chance to build a career in her home city.
She prizes the daily interaction with visitors; her languages come in handy with the tourists.
But she’s learning loads from locals too.
“People are fascinated by what they’ve done to the old City Hall,” she said.
“A lot of them were worried it was going to be knocked down, so it’s lovely to be a new part of all that history now.”
The Stone of Destiny is the big draw, of course.
More than 75,000 of the museum’s visitors have been to see it.
But the museum is home to another 2,000 objects telling the story of Perth and Kinross through 10,000 years of history.
And it’s these treasures that are bringing locals back time and again.
Museum anniversary marks opportunity for Perth city centre
Eilidh’s favourite is the 3,000-year-old Carpow logboat.
Carved from a single oak trunk, it lay buried in the banks of the River Tay, near Perth, until it was discovered more than 20 years ago.
“I spoke to a visitor the other day who said he’d seen it coming out of the river,” she said.
“We’re hearing stories like that all the time, and it’s all adding to what we are able to pass on to visitors.”
And while the naysayers question the official figures, Eilidh says she can personally vouch for how much busier Perth city centre feels, compared to March 2024.
“There’s a really nice buzz about Perth just now,” she said.
“We just need to keep it going in year two.”
Cafe integral to museum’s success
Matt Wester, 29, is another who started in the museum’s Stone Cafe last March.
It’s seen its share of controversies after Culture Perth and Kinross, the charity which manages the museum, failed to appoint a private operator and took on the running of the cafe itself at the 11th hour.
Staff have borne the brunt of that at times.
But 99.9% of customers are a pleasure, says Matt.
And with new places to eat and drink opening up around the museum, bosses insist there’s space for everyone.
The cafe prides itself on its range of local suppliers, including Perth social enterprise Giraffe, The Bean Shop and Casella & Polegato bakery.
And while visitors to the museum account for a big share of its 65,000-plus customers – there’s a growing band of regulars too.
Matt says he and the rest of the Stone team have become unofficial Perth tourist guides over the past year.
“We really noticed when the tourist information centre closed,” said Matt.
“A lot of visitors ask us about other things to see and do while they’re here. We’ve all got our own interests – mine are dog walks and photography – so we can usually point people in the right direction.”
He is proud of the role he and his workmates are playing at this moment in Perth’s history.
“The museum is giving people a reason to come here,” he said.
“And then hopefully when they’re here they’ll like what they see and stay a couple of nights.
“Compared to other cities I’ve been to lately, Perth feels like it’s growing. The city centre is busier, there are businesses opening and relocating, there’s a lot to be excited about.”
Anniversary events and future attractions
The next big exhibition will focus on Shakespeare’s antihero Macbeth and his links to Perthshire. It opens on April 25.
Mary, Queen of Scots’ final letter, written just hours before her death, will arrive in January 2026 for a three-month stay.
And the awards keep coming, including Cultural Building of the Year at the Archello Awards and Small Regeneration Project of the Year at the Scottish Property Awards.
Perth Museum is also shortlisted in three categories at the Museum and Heritage Awards, which will be announced in May.
Leader of Perth and Kinross Council Grant Laing said: “Perth Museum is not just bringing more people into Perth, it is raising our profile across the globe.
“It is an attraction we can all be proud of and I congratulate staff at Culture Perth and Kinross on such a brilliant first year.”
The birthday celebrations kick off on Thursday March 27 with a public talk on how the museum was created with curator Dr Mark Hall.
Across the weekend of March 28-30, Macbeth tickets will be £1 online via Perthshire Box Office.
There’ll be a 5% discount at the Perth Museum gift shop.
And visitors will get the chance to meet a Suffragette, a Civil War soldier, or even Mary, Queen of Scots.
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