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Eighteen museums up for Family Friendly awards
Prize includes new category recognising best youth groups
Kids in Museums have announced the 18 museums that have been nominated for its Family Friendly Museum Awards, following a public vote and shortlisting process by a panel of judges.
The awards recognise museums in five different categories, including a new award celebrating museum staff and young people working together in a long-term, meaningful and impactful way such as youth panels or forums, young volunteer schemes, and history or art clubs.
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The shortlist for the Family Friendly Museum Award 2024 is:
Best Accessible Museum
- Cooper Art Gallery Barnsley
- Streetlife Museum, Hull
- Wakefield Museum
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Best Small Museum
- Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea
- Museum of the Order of St John, London
- National Civil War Centre, Newark
- Nothe Fort, Weymouth
- Story Museum, Oxford
Best Medium Museum
- Discover Children’s Story Centre, London
- Museum of the Home, London
- Museum of Making, Derby
- Turner Contemporary, Margate
Best Large Museum
- National Galleries Scotland – Modern One, Edinburgh
- Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester
- Young V&A, London
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Best Museum Youth Group
- Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow
- Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
- Tees Valley Museums
- Wakefield Museum
Over the summer holidays, undercover family judges will visit the shortlisted museums and rate them on how well they meet the Kids in Museums Manifesto, a set of guidelines on what makes a great museum visit for all ages.
Their experiences will decide a winner for each museum category and an overall winner of the Family Friendly Museum Award 2024 to be announced at an awards ceremony in Yorkshire in October.
The new youth group category was only open to museum applications and will be judged by an expert panel, including the Kids in Museums Youth Panel.
“In a year that showcased inclusive and welcoming practice in museums across the UK, our shortlist stood out for their exceptional commitment to families,” said Vanessa Eke, Chair of Kids in Museums.
“Venues have developed innovative ways to centre the voices of children, families and young people in their work, including creating dedicated spaces for ‘community conversation’ and working with transport providers to subsidise young people’s travel to their programmes. I’m delighted that we can recognise this ambition and dedication on a national level.”
Kids in Museums began the Family Friendly Museum Award in 2004. Previous winners include Craven Museum in 2023; the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield in 2022; Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery in Alnwick in 2021; the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum in Dunfermline in 2019; and Leeds City Museum in 2018.