Cannon Hall Museum Accessibility Acknowledged

You may have heard that Cannon Hall Museum was shortlisted for the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award earlier in the year as Best Accessible Museum. It’s the second year running that Barnsley Museums have been shortlisted, coming out on top last year with the award for Experience Barnsley. 

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 UK 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.

The Best Accessible Museum category celebrates museums making excellent efforts to include families with children or young people who have special educational needs and disabilities. Shortlisted museums will also be given feedback on how they can further improve their offer for families.

Members of the Learning Team attended a ceremony held at Greenwich Maritime Museum, and although they did not win this time, they received really positive feedback from the judges and a certificate acknowledging their nomination for the award. This reflects all the hard work put in by the Museums team to ensure that their sites are as accessible to as many people as possible.   

Cllr Robert Frost, Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said: “We were absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for this prestigious award, especially after Experience Barnsley was named the Best Accessible Museum 2022.  I think the nomination really shows how dedicated we are to accessibility and our primary objective it to make all our museums accessible to everyone.  We know how important cultural experiences are for people and we want to make sure they are safe and relaxing for all of our visitors.”

The Family Friendly Museum Award has been made possible by funding from Arts Council England.

For more information about Cannon Hall Museum, Park and Gardens visit www.cannon-hall.com

Awards photo credit: Jayne Lloyd, Kids in Museums