Discover the UK’s best museums for families this summer

AIM members are amongst the 18 museums in the running to be named the UK’s Best Family Friendly Museum.

Kids in Museums has revealed the shortlist for its Family Friendly Museum Award. Each year the charity celebrates museums, galleries, castles, historic homes and heritage sites that are most welcoming, fun and accessible to all ages. It’s up to families to decide the winner!

From the end of March to the beginning of June, hundreds of families from across the UK voted for their favourite venue on the Kids in Museums website. An expert panel, including children, young people and accessibility experts whittled down the nominations to the shortlist announced today.

From Swansea to Glasgow, the museums shortlisted for this year’s award have demonstrated their commitment to providing a memorable experience for families of all shapes and sizes.

Some of the innovative ways the museums are welcoming families include: converting single visit tickets into free annual passes, family activities for d/Deaf families, outreach activities in libraries, schools and hospitals, planning welcoming events like B.Y.O.B (Bring Your Own Baby/bump) gallery tours, creating sensory maps and much more!

Vanessa Eke, Chair of Kids in Museums, said: “Congratulations to this year’s shortlist!

In a year that showcased inclusive and welcoming practice in museums across the UK, our shortlist stood out for their exceptional commitment to families. 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.”

“This year’s shortlist is a testament to the fun, accessible and varied activity museums across the UK offer their family visitors. With the summer holidays coming up, we hope that families will enjoy an affordable and memorable visit to a shortlisted venue.” 

The shortlist for the Family Friendly Museum Award 2024 is: 

Best Accessible Museum

• Cooper Art Gallery Barnsley
• Streetlife Museum, Hull
• Wakefield Museum 

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

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.

This year, a new award category celebrates museum staff and young people working together in a long-term, meaningful and impactful way, such as through youth panels or forums, young volunteer schemes, and history or art clubs.  It was open to museum applications only and will be judged by an expert panel, including the Kids in Museums Youth Panel. 

Best Museum Youth Group

• Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow
• Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
• Tees Valley Museums
• Wakefield Museum

Follow the Family Friendly Museum Award on social media by following @kidsinmuseums and the hashtag #FamilyFriendlyMuseum.

The Family Friendly Museum Award has been made possible by funding from Arts Council England.