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You'd never know that the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum has had a tough couple of years judging by visitors' smiles.

"Most new museums see their attendance go down after the first year," said Marilee Schmit Nason, the museum's curator of collections. "But ours actually went up."

Nason said the balloon museum welcomed 2,700 visitors opening day of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which officials say is equal to or higher than its best day ever.

The $16 million museum opened in October 2005 to disappointing visitorship and charges by some City Council members that it was a white elephant. At a meeting to discuss slashing city financial support of the museum in May 2006, Councilor Don Harris noted, "Sometimes you have something that's world-class but you still don't go."

City councilors have suggested cutting municipal aid to the museum, and in August the council pulled the plug on construction of a reflecting pond at the museum, calling it a waste of water.

But there were no signs of disappointment Sunday as throngs of smiling people wandered throughout the museum to the music of Mariachi New Mexico.

Kayla Whittenberger of Florida made her way around the museum as part of her first visit to the balloon fiesta. Whittenberger, 20, said the museum added to her appreciation of the city's premier tourism event.

"A lot of people come out here to see the balloons for fun, but they don't know the history of it if they don't come to the museum," Whittenberger said.

Visitors are asked for their ZIP code when they purchase their tickets, which Nason said helps the museum officials determine where they need to focus their advertising.

"We want to see where people are coming from so we can see what areas aren't being represented," she said.

Nason said the museum gets about a quarter of its visitors annually during balloon fiesta, with the other remainder strolling in throughout the year.

To boost attendance from balloon fiesta visitors, the museum has opened for extended hours, set up an information booth and museum signs at Balloon Fiesta Park and is offering round-trip shuttle service between the museum and field.

The focus of the museum is on the history of ballooning - inventors, science, art and military uses - more than just as an advertising tool for the balloon fiesta.

"A lot of people think the museum is only about hot-air ballooning and that it's only during the fiesta," Nason said. "But it is about all types and all times in the history of balloons. The exhibits are about art, history, sports and science - not just about recreational use."

Many of the exhibits are interactive, including touch screens and a flight simulator that takes visitors on a balloon tour of New Mexico.

One of the museum's newest installations is "Airships: The Big, Bad and Bold," an exhibit exploring the little-known facts about the airships that have historically played a role in both war and recreation.

The general consensus from the crowd Sunday was that they got their money's worth out of the few dollars it costs to get in, and it wasn't just the tourists.

Albuquerque residents Betsy Stephens, 29, and Michael Neill, 28, were visiting the museum for the first time. They said the exhibits were well-organized and intriguing.

"I especially liked the part about the disasters, like the Hindenburg," Stephens said. "I never would have thought they had dining rooms inside those big airships."