‘Boom’ in visitors to the da Vinci Museum in Milan, over 600 thousand in 2024

The National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci” in Milan closed 2024 with 315 active days of opening and over 600,000 visitors, of which approximately 90,000 event guests; More than 46,000 people took part in the activities in the interactive workshops and guided tours over the weekend. There was a large audience from abroad which represented 53% of the total.

2024 was also an important year from an educational point of view: 4,350 school groups visited the Museum and experienced the 165 educational paths proposed. Furthermore, more than 630 teachers were involved and a total of 175 hours of training were provided during specific professional development meetings. The Museum’s cultural heritage includes 21,600 assets forming part of its collections, of which 160 acquired in 2024, 36 permanent thematic exhibitions, 14 laboratories and 3 interactive digital works of art: the new itineraries that are proposed are updated in a studied balance with the digital teaching.

Among the new features of 2024, the inauguration of Playlab, the 400 m2 educational space that aims to be the first museum for girls and boys aged 3 to 6 will visit in their lives and the launch of Lost Planetarium, the Museum’s first escape game to be played entirely within its over 50,000 m2.

The year just ended saw the Museum’s offering enriched: the Carrelli 1928 tram, symbol of Milan and Italy in the world, which became part of the collections; the plaster cast of the Nike of Samothrace housed in the Naval Pavilion, restored; initiatives dedicated to 150 years since the birth of Guglielmo Marconi including a podcast series and a volume to discover the Museum’s historical collections dedicated to the inventor; special activities for the 70th anniversary of the K2 summit expedition; the digital art offering was enriched by the interactive installation Kinfolk and the generative artwork Infinity, both created by the British collective Universal Everything.

The Museum also confirms itself as one of the prestigious places in Milan where conferences, events, musical appointments, presentations and convivial moments can be organized, which in 2024 numbered over 220. Among these, the meeting with astronaut Luca Parmitano on the occasion of the 75th Congress Astronautico Internazionale (IAC), the first two live events of Fatti per Capire, Barbara Gallavotti’s project created to contribute to the development of scientific citizenship which presents itself as an Italian Science Media Centre.