Charity Kids in Museums awards the prize annually to one museum, gallery, historic home or heritage site in the UK that goes the extra mile to provide a great experience for families.

The award was created in 2004 to give family visitors a voice and show that any museum, regardless of size or budget, can create a brilliant experience for families. It is the only museum award in the UK to be judged by families.

Dan Snow, historian, broadcaster and Kids in Museums Ambassador, said: “I’m delighted to declare the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award now open! From visiting museums as a child to now visiting as a parent, I know they can be joyful and inspiring places for all ages. I also understand the challenges of visiting with young children and how small things, like friendly staff and a great family trail, can make a big difference. It’s great that this award gives families like mine a powerful voice to say what they want from a museum visit. Let’s get nominating!”

Last year saw Leeds City Museum crowned Family Friendly Museum of the Year 2018. The museum won praise for its helpful staff and great activity programme, including baby-friendly curator talks and ‘Dadstastic’ Days.

Nominations for the Family Friendly Museum Award can be made by anyone – children, parents, carers, grandparents, aunties, uncles – or by museums themselves.

Nominations close at noon on 31 May 2019. To make a nomination, visit the Kids in Museums website and fill in the online form: www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk/awards.

For the first time this year, in addition to one overall winner, Kids in Museums has introduced award categories based on museums’ visitor numbers: Small, Medium and Large Museum. Full guidance can be found on the Kids in Museums website.

In June an expert panel will whittle down the nominations to a shortlist. Undercover family judges will then visit each shortlisted museum and assess them on how well they meet the Kids in Museums Manifesto. The Manifesto is a set of simple guidelines created by children, young people and families. It sets out what they feel makes museums welcoming and inclusive places. Kids in Museums has today launched an updated version of the Manifesto for museums and families.

The family judges’ experiences will decide the winner for each category. An expert panel will then pick an overall winner to be announced at an awards ceremony in October 2019.

Follow the action on Twitter by following @kidsinmuseums and #FamilyFriendlyMuseum.

The Family Friendly Museum Award has been made possible by funding from Arts Council England and is kindly supported by Edwardian Hotels London.

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Notes to Editors

For more information, please contact Jocelyn Murdoch at Kids in Museums on [email protected] / 020 3096 7707

About Kids in Museums

We are a charity dedicated to making museums open and welcoming to all children, young people and families. We support and champion family friendly organisations through wide-ranging initiatives, including the Family Friendly Museum Award and Takeover Day. We invite heritage organisations to sign up to our Manifesto, which sets out simple guidelines for making museums easy to reach for all ages. www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk

Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About the Family Friendly Museum Award

Kids in Museums began the Family Friendly Museum Award in 2004 and the prize is now in its fourteenth year. The award champions museums who place families’ voices at the heart of their organisations.

Previous winners of the Family Friendly Museum Award include the People’s History Museum in Manchester, York Art Gallery, the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall and the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London.

About Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk