The Amelia Scott 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 museum award to be judged by families.
From February to late April , families across the UK voted for their favourite heritage attraction on the Kids in Museums website. A panel of museum experts, children and young people then whittled down hundreds of nominations to a shortlist of 18 heritage attractions.
The Amelia Scott is vying against 3 other museums in the Best Medium Museum category.
Arts, Heritage and Engagement Director, Jeremy Kimmel said:
"We’re thrilled to be shortlisted for the Family Friendly Museum Award, what a fantastic honour! As a civic museum, we believe every child deserves unhindered access to culture and creativity from the very start, and we’re passionate about making The Amelia Scott a place where families feel at home, explore together, and make brilliant memories. This recognition is a testament to our team’s creative, welcoming programme and to the brilliant support we receive from our community."
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 2025. 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.
The full list of museums shortlisted for the Family Friendly Museum Award 2025 is:
Best Accessible Museum
· The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury
· Eureka! The National Children's Museum, Halifax
· Worsbrough Mill Museum and Country Park, Barnsley
Best Small Museum
· Abbey House Museum, Leeds
· Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea
· Experience Barnsley Museum and Discovery Centre, Barnsley
· North Lincolnshire Museum, Scunthorpe
· Showtown Blackpool
Best Medium Museum
· The Amelia Scott, Tunbridge Wells
· Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne
· National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
· V&A Dundee
Best Large Museum
· The Burrell Collection, Glasgow
· Horniman Museum and Gardens, London
· London Transport Museum, London
Best Museum Youth Project: Social Justice
· Black Cultural Archives, London
· Glasgow Life Museums
· Wiltshire Museum
About Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. From 2024 to 2026 we will invest over £440 million of public money from Government and an estimated £93 million from The National Lottery each year to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk.