Cannon Hall Museum shortlisted for national Family Friendly Museum Award
Cannon Hall Museum has been shortlisted for the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award, it was announced today.
Charity Kids in Museums has run a prestigious annual award since 2004, recognising the most family friendly heritage sites in the UK. It is the only UK museum award to be judged by families.
From late March to early June, families across the UK voted for their favourite heritage attraction on the Kids in Museums website. A panel of museum experts then whittled down hundreds of nominations to a shortlist of 18 heritage attractions.
Cannon Hall Museum is vying against two other museums in the Best Accessible Museum category.
The Best Accessible Museum category celebrates museums making excellent efforts to include families with children or young people who have special educational needs and disabilities. Shortlisted museums will also be given feedback on how they can further improve their offer for families.
Cllr Robert Frost, Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for this prestigious award, especially after Experience Barnsley was named the Best Accessible Museum 2022. I think the nomination really shows how dedicated we are to accessibility and our primary objective it to make all our museums accessible to everyone. We know how important cultural experiences are for people and we want to make sure they are safe and relaxing for all of our visitors.”
Over the summer holidays, the museum will be visited by undercover family judges who will assess the shortlisted museums against 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 award category and an overall winner of the Family Friendly Museum Award 2023. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in October.
Follow the Family Friendly Museum Award on social media by following @kidsinmuseums and #FamilyFriendlyMuseum.
The Family Friendly Museum Award has been made possible by funding from Arts Council England.