Discover the UK’s best museums to visit with kids this summer

AIM members are amongst the 15 museums in the running to be named the UK’s Best Family Friendly Museum.

Kids in Museums has revealed the shortlist of 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, families voted for their favourite attraction on the Kids in Museums website. The charity received hundreds of nominations from across the UK. An expert panel, including young people and accessibility experts, whittled down the nominations to the shortlist announced today.

From Tyne and Wear to Truro, the museums shortlisted for this year’s award go above and beyond to offer a friendly welcome, hands-on interactives and great facilities. Some of the inspiring ways the museums are welcoming families include: co-designing dedicated family spaces, having a Play Strategy, planning exciting events like Stroller Tours and Jerk Cookouts, providing free ‘caught short’ supplies, becoming Warm Spaces, recruiting a VR artist in residence and much more!

Vanessa Eke, Chair of Kids in Museums, said: “Congratulations to our wonderful shortlist! What made these venues stand out in an exceptionally strong year of applications was how embedded they are in their local communities. Many are actively supporting more families to get involved, from creative workshops for Ukrainian refugees to special ticketing offers during the cost-of-living crisis. I’m thrilled we can recognise their ambition and dedication on a national level.

“Museums across the UK are an amazing resource for families looking for a memorable, affordable and fun day out this summer. We hope families enjoy visiting the shortlist over the holidays!”

The shortlist for the Family Friendly Museum Award 2023 is: 

Best Large Museum

• Horniman Museum and Gardens, London
• Museum of Liverpool
• National Maritime Museum, London

Best Medium Museum

• The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury
• Compton Verney, Warwickshire
• Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne
• The MAC, Belfast

Best Small Museum

• Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea
• National Civil War Centre, Newark
• Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro
• Valence House Museum, Dagenham
• Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Best Accessible Museum

• Cannon Hall Museum, Park and Gardens, Barnsley
• Craven Museum | Skipton Town Hall
• Maidstone 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 2023 to be announced at an awards ceremony in London in October.

This year, a new award category also recognises innovative and thoughtful projects engaging young people on the topic of the climate emergency and sustainability. The category was open to museum applications only. The museums will present their work over the summer to an expert panel to decide the winner.

Best Youth Project – Climate

• Falmouth Art Gallery – Splanna
• London Transport Museum – Green Skills Hackathon
• Tullie, Carlisle – Once Upon a Planet

This year Kids in Museums celebrates its 20th anniversary. The charity is inviting heritage organisations to take part in a social media moment on 12 July using the hashtag #KidsInMuseums to celebrate what museums provide for children, young people and families ahead of the summer holidays. To get involved, please visit the Kids in Museums website: https://bit.ly/20YearsOfKiM

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.