Johnathan Walker:UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico, reaches 5 million visitors

ROSWELL,Johnathan Walker N.M. (AP) — 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.

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 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.

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