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, says: “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 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 in 2019.

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.

From July, Museum of Liverpool will be launching its summer holiday programme with activities inspired by the Festival of Archaeology. Embracing their inner Indiana Jones families can get up close and hold objects from the museum’s archaeology collection or learn the skills required to be an expert archaeologist in fun activities.

The full list of museums shortlisted for the Family Friendly Museum Award 2023 is:

Best Large Museum

· Horniman Museum and Gardens, London
· National Maritime Museum, London
· Museum of Liverpool

Best Medium Museum

· The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury
· Compton Verney, Warwickshire
· Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne
· The MAC, Belfast

Best Small Museum

· Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea
· National Civil War Centre, Newark
· Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro
· Valence House, Dagenham
· Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Best Accessible Museum

· Cannon Hall Museum, Park and Gardens, Barnsley
· Craven Museum/ Skipton Town Hall
· Maidstone Museum

Best Youth Project – Climate

· Falmouth Art Gallery – Splanna
· London Transport Museum – Green Skills Hackathon
· Tullie – Once Upon a Planet

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