Great North Museum: Hancock shortlisted for national Family Friendly Museum Award

Newcastle University's Great North Museum: Hancock has been shortlisted for the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award, it was announced yesterday.

The charity Kids in Museums has run the prestigious annual award since 2004, recognising the most family friendly heritage sites across the UK. It is the only museum award to be judged solely 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.

The Great North Museum: Hancock is vying against four other museums in the Best Medium Museum Award category.

The museum has been shortlisted for a Family Friendly Museum Award on three occasions in the past and won the award for the Best Medium Museum in 2019. The team at the museum are thrilled to once again be nominated and are delighted that Kids in Museums has recognised their continuing and growing work for families.

Malavika Anderson, Museum Manager at the Great North Museum: Hancock, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for the Family Friendly Museum Award! Children and young people are at the heart of our mission here at the Great North Museum: Hancock. It is such a great privilege to be recognised as a welcoming, inspiring, innovative and fun space for families. Huge thanks to everyone who nominated us - we are thrilled that families choose to spend time with us and enrich our museum in every way.”

James Annesley, Acting Dean of Culture and the Creative Arts | Professor of Contemporary American Literature at Newcastle University, said: “A richly deserved nomination for everything colleagues at Great North Museum: Hancock are doing to create inspiring experiences for children and young people each and every day. Congratulations to them and sincere thanks to all of the visitors who nominated the museum for this award.”

A visitor who made a nomination for the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award 2023 said: “This is a museum that I have loved to take my children to since they were babies. There is a wonderful combination of local northeast history along with loads of interactive displays about everything from animals to Egypt. Part of what makes me proud to call the northeast my home.”

One of the star attractions at the museum this summer is the new and original choose your own adventure exhibition, Myth Quest: Monsters and Mortals. This museum-wide experience offers a wonderful opportunity for visitors to learn about myths and legends from around the world while having fun exploring amazing and unique artefacts, including many not usually on display.

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.