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The Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery has been named the winner of this year’s Family Friendly Museum Award
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 12 Oct 2021
Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery recently hosted the Jorvik Group’s ‘Vikings Fact and Fiction’ in its temporary exhibition space Credit: Kids in Museums/Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery
A small museum in Northumberland has been named the UK’s best museum for visiting families.
The Family Friendly Museum Award, which is now in its fifteenth year, is given annually to one museum, gallery, historic home or heritage site in the UK that goes the extra mile to provide a great experience for families.
Each year, finalists are visited by undercover family judges during the summer holidays, with their experiences deciding the winners.
Located in Alnwick, the Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery is a volunteer and community-led museum, telling the stories of Alnwick and District - a centre of conflict between the Scottish and the English for many centuries.
Sitting inside the town’s Castle Quarter and right by Alnwick Castle, the museum is housed over three floors, with its permanent collection including artefacts, documents, photographs and audiovisual content.
Beating 19 other shortlisted museums from across the UK, the museum was named winner of the Family Friendly Museum Award 2021, receiving praise for its welcoming volunteers and relaxed atmosphere. According to the judges, families loved exploring the Viking camp, following the museum mouse trail, being encouraged to get hands-on throughout, seeing information displayed at child height and the practical family facilities.
“This year’s winner really exemplifies what the Family Friendly Museum Award is all about,” said Philip Mould, president of the Arts Council-funded charity Kids in Museums.
“At its heart is a group of devoted volunteers working hard to welcome and support their local community. Thanks to their efforts, Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery has excelled in allowing families to feel free to be themselves and to have fun and engage with the history inside the museum.”
The winners
Picking up the awards for Overall Winner and Best Small Museum, Bailiffgate was joined by five others, who were recognised for their work with families.
In the British capital, the London Transport Museum and Horniman Museum were named the Best Medium Museum and Best Large Museum respectively, while the Postal Museum picked up the award for Best Accessible Museum.
National Museum Wales and The Whitworth in Manchester also received prizes for their digital activities for families.
“After another difficult year for museums, it’s great that we can highlight the excellent work that staff and volunteers are doing in Alnwick and across the UK,” said Mould. “Many congratulations to all this year’s winners.”
Museums and galleries
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