Twenty museums across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are in the running to be named the UK’s Best Family Friendly Museum.
Today charity Kids in Museums has revealed the shortlist for its Family Friendly Museum Award for 2026.
Over the summer, undercover family judges will visit the shortlisted museums and rate them on how well they meet the charity’s ‘Kids in Museums Manifesto’, a set of guidelines which it says families consider make a great museum visit for all ages.
Their experiences will decide the winner, which will be revealed at an October award ceremony at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.
Paul Sapwell, chair of Kids in Museums, said: “It’s fantastic to see such a wide range of venues represented across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
This year’s ceremony includes a special award category, ‘Best Museum Careers Initiative’, which has been designed to celebrate venues “working to support young people to engage meaningfully with opportunities to develop skills for employment, gain professional experience in the heritage sector and build positive attitudes towards work.
The full list of museums shortlisted for the Family Friendly Museum Award 2026 is:
Best Accessible Museum
Brampton Museum, Staffordshire
Hull and East Riding Museum of Archaeology
The Postal Museum, London
Woodhorn Museum, Northumberland
Best Small Museum
Ballymoney Museum, County Antrim
Dales Countryside Museum, Yorkshire
Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
York Army Museum
Best Medium Museum
Leeds City Museum
National Football Museum, Manchester
The Box Plymouth
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Best Large Museum
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow
National Maritime Museum, London
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford
Best Museum Careers Initiative
Charleston, East Sussex
London Transport Museum
Norfolk Museums Service
Ullapool Museum, Scottish Highlands
