Visit 42 Museums Less Than 12 Hours, This Man Breaks Guinness World Records Record

JAKARTA - The man from England managed to break the Guinness World Record after visiting 42 museums in less than 12 hours.

Ben Melham (42) managed to break the record for visiting the most museums in 24 hours, by resolving this in less than half the time.

Melham explored London October last year, starting his journey at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum, East London at 9:03 a.m. and ending it at the Royal Academy of Arts in Central London at 19:58 p.m., Guinness World Records said in a press statement, reported by CNN on February 7.

On the sidelines, he visited about 40 other museums, ranging from world-famous tourist attractions including the Natural History Museum, the Tower of London and the British Museum, to the smallest national museum in Great Britain, Sir John Soane Museum.

Melham said he was inspired to try to break records after reading the Guinness World Records book with his children.

After discussing how difficult it is to break world records, his children, Matilde and Henrik, "challenging me to turn words into action," Melham said, according to Guinness World Records.

He decided to follow the challenge in London, which he called a "clear choice."

"The museums in London contain millions of objects. Each of them can give you a moment to connect with a point of time, certain people, or natural magic," he explained.

Melham, who works in the museum sector as an operations consultant, is now hoping to break world records for the museum's most visited in a year.

As of last week, he had visited 85 museums since starting his challenge in October, documenting his trips on Instagram and Bluesky.

"The museum preserves and shares the stories and objects that define us. The museum is where we gather to reflect on the past, discuss the present, and imagine the future," said Melham.

It is known, Melham's world record visited 42 museums in 24 hours beating the previous record holder by 11 museums.

Sujoy Kumar Mitra and Swaroop Dawrani, both from India, broke previous records in early 2024, visiting 33 museums in one day, the Guinness World Records said.