Museum of Liverpool has been shortlisted for the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award.
The popular attraction is vying for a win against two London-based museums, Horniman Museum and Gardens and National Maritime Museum in the Best Large Museum category.
Kate Johnson, Head of Museum of Liverpool said, “Welcoming families and making their visit as fun as possible is so important to us that it was built into the original design of the museum, which opened in 2011.
“From a dedicated children’s gallery and displays at child’s eye level, to changing rooms and space for buggies, being a welcoming, accommodating and enjoyable place for all our visitors is crucial to us.
“A Kids in Museums’ Family Friendly Museum Award is a particularly special recognition because families are such an important voice on the jury, so we’re proud to even make the shortlist. It’s also exciting to make this announcement so close to the summer holidays, when we have lots planned for visitors.
“We’ll be exploring our archaeology collection with fascinating family activities, learning more about a Liverpool icon, Kitty Wilkinson with interactive performances, and our popular Little Liverpool gallery has some brand-new sessions for our youngest visitors, making it the perfect time to visit and discover why we were shortlisted.”
The Museum of Liverpool’s appeal to families has been recognised previously, shortlisted in both 2016 and 2019, going on to win its category 2019.
Jenny Mullin, family blogger, said, “My son, Jacob, and I always love visiting the Museum of Liverpool. It’s a full day out for all the family, with so much to explore in a fun way. Most importantly it’s free which means everyone can enjoy it.
“The staff are always friendly and happy to answer any questions. Recently we attended the Kitty Wilkinson performance after Jacob had learnt about her over Covid. There was a mixture of ages, and everyone got involved. Jacob also loves the Wondrous Place gallery, and we can spend hours in there!”
Jacob (aged 9) added, “I love watching the programme about match days. I also like to play the horse game with my mum in the Wondrous Place gallery.”
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 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.
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.
Image: NML
Why not follow birkenhead.news on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? You can also send story ideas to news@birkenhead.news
Subscribe to our FREE newsletter