From the tip of Scotland to the south west of England, the 20 museums making it to the Guardian Family Friendly Award longlist all share one thing – they go that extra mile to welcome families.

Kids in Museums logoHere are the 20 museums listed alphabetically:

  • Abbey House Museum, Leeds
  • At-Bristol
  • Corinium Museum, Cirencester
  • Crich Tramway Village, Derbyshire
  • Geffrye Museum, London
  • Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, Norfolk
  • Hands on History, Hull
  • Haslemere Educational Museum, Essex
  • Highland Folk Museum, Newtonmore
  • Horniman Museum, London
  • Kilmartin House Museum, Argyll
  • The Lightbox, Woking, Surrey
  • Manchester Art Gallery
  • Mansfield Museum, Nottinghamshire
  • Sulgrave Manor, Banbury, Oxfordshire
  • The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent
  • Thinktank, Birmingham Science Centre
  • Woodhorn Museum and Archive, Northumberland

A panel of leaders in the museum world, chaired by Jenny Abramsky, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, will draw up a shortlist. This shortlist will be anonymously roadtested by families. It’s families who nominate the museums, and it’s families who decide the winner. The Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award – the biggest award in Britain – is the only award to be judged by visitors.

Kids in Museums is a visitor-led charity working with museums and galleries to make them more family-friendly, in particular to those who have never visited before.