Roswell's International UFO Museum celebrates 5 million visitors

Local father/daughter duo Chris and Hannah McDonald received balloons, memorabilia, lifetime museum memberships

The International UFO Museum & Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico, 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.

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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.

People take pictures of exhibits at the International UFO Museum and Research Center during the UFO Festival on July 2, 2021 in Roswell, New Mexico.  (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Roswell has been a hub for people fascinated by space and extraterrestrial phenomenon 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.

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An annual UFO Festival, operating since 1996, brings as many as 40,000 people to Roswell, according to a city report.

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