Image: The Met's visitor numbers hit a record high

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, welcomed 6.28 million people during the 12 months ending 30 June 2012 - up nearly 600,000 visitors on the previous year.

Visitor numbers to The Cloisters museums and gardens are included in the figure, which is the highest recorded by the attraction since it started collecting data more than 40 years ago.

Nearly 218,000 schoolchildren visited the museum during the 12-month period, an increase of nearly 3,200 on 2011, Membership numbers have soared to 170,000.

The opening of the new galleries housing the museum's collection of Islamic art, as well as its new-look American Wing, are among the contributing factors behind the increase.

Museum director and CEO Thomas P Campbell said: "Anchoring this success was the public's interest in the new galleries for our Islamic collection and our American Wing.

"Attendance at our exhibitions, which covered a broad spectrum of topics traversing centuries and geographic areas, was also strong throughout the year."

Click here to read more about the Metropolitan Museum of Art's record-breaking year in terms of visitor numbers.

More details: www.metmuseum.org

Image: Majonaise