It’s impressive when what’s predicted comes to pass. The iron law of recessions has it that culture gets a rise in interest. More folks go to the movies, buy books and go to museums. Sure enough, movie tickets have been on the rise since 2008. Now the Wall Street Journal confirms that museums are seeing bigger numbers too, according to the American Association of Museums:

AAM estimates that 57% of museums saw a jump in attendance in 2009, compared with recent years. Science and technology museums saw the broadest gains, with 81% reporting an increase, while half of art museums said they saw visitor growth. More than a quarter of the museums that responded to the survey reported “significant” increases in attendance, between 5-20%. AAM estimates that there were roughly 850 million museum visits in the United States last year.

Museums See Rise in Attendance (Wall Street Journal)