Beaney in the running for yet another Kids in Museums Award
The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge is in the running for yet another prestigious national award in recognition of its quality as a family attraction.
Having won in the best medium museum category in the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Awards back in 2023, The Beaney, in High Street, Canterbury, has been shortlisted in the ‘best accessible museum’ category.
It is up against Eureka! The National Children’s Museum in Halifax and Worsbrough Mill Museum and Country Park in Barnsley.
The Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award celebrates the most family-friendly heritage sites in the UK and is the only museum award to be judged by families.
From February to late April, families across the UK voted for their favourite heritage attraction on the Kids in Museums website.
A panel of museum experts, children and young people then whittled down hundreds of nominations to a shortlist of 18 heritage attractions.
Lots of comments were submitted about The Beaney during the voting period earlier this year, with many praising its provision for visitors with accessibility needs.
One family wrote: “We so often feel excluded from society. We are a neurodivergent family of three, our son is six and has numerous SEN conditions.
“We visited the museum and were blown away by the lengths that they went to in order to ensure that it is accessible to all. The staff were wonderful.
“I am 45 and my mum used to take me to the museum as a child. It was wonderful to be able to take my own son, an opportunity that we are frequently denied with other experiences and museums.”
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 2025.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in October.
Cllr Charlotte Cornell, Cabinet Member for Heritage, said: “Being nominated for yet another one of these awards just shows how valued The Beaney is in our community.
“I know how hard the museum team works to break down barriers that might stop someone from visiting The Beaney, whether it’s sensory bags for children with special educational needs and disabilities, accessible versions of their family trails, creative workshops for blind and partially-sighted visitors, audio descriptions of collection highlights or online information to help those with accessibility needs plan their visit.
“We’ll be eagerly awaiting the results following the secret family visit this summer, and I’ll have everything crossed that it goes just as well as it did last time!”
Notes to Editors
About Kids in Museums
We are an award-winning charity dedicated to making museums open and welcoming to all children, young people and families. We support and champion family friendly organisations through wide-ranging initiatives, including the Family Friendly Museum Award and Takeover Day. We invite heritage organisations to sign up to our Manifesto, which sets out simple guidelines for making museums easy to reach for all ages. www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk Find us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
About the Family Friendly Museum Award
Kids in Museums began the Family Friendly Museum Award in 2004 to recognise heritage sites that are the most welcoming, fun and accessible for families.
Previous winners of the Family Friendly Museum Award include Young V&A (2024), Craven Museum (2023), the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield (2022), Bailiffgate Museum & Gallery in Alnwick (2021), Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum in Dunfermline (2019) and Leeds City Museum (2018).
Published: 23 June 2025