Families vote V&A Dundee one of the best museums in the UK
V&A Dundee has received the seal of approval from kids and their grown-ups across the country in this year’s prestigious Family Friendly Museum Award.
The accolade celebrates the most welcoming, fun and accessible museums, galleries and heritage attractions who go the extra mile to provide excellent family friendly experiences. The charity Kids in Museums has run the acclaimed annual award since 2004 and it is the only museum award to be judged by a public panel of families.
V&A Dundee offers a free and exciting learning programme funded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Full of design-themed activities for the whole family, there are over 100 days of free designer-led creative events all year round. Playful interactive drop in spaces, trails and free entry for under 18’s to ticketed exhibitions also help families to enjoy low-cost and accessible visits to the museum.
Regular and seasonal activities like Blockitecture, the Selkie Trail, Drop in + Design, under 5s play sessions and this summer’s upcoming 30-day Paper Paradise summer holiday workshops, inspired by the Garden Futures exhibition, all encourage families to connect and learn new skills through fun and enriching design experiences.
The museum supports lifelong learning and creativity for every age, with programmes for nurseries, schools, students and educators, as well as family support projects and community outreach activities. The museum’s Young People’s Collective, ages 14-24, also shape the offering from V&A Dundee, co-designing workshops, socials, trips and public events in collaboration with the team and external partners across Dundee.
Tracey Smith, Learning Programme Producer – Families, from V&A Dundee said: “Our team are all thrilled to be shortlisted for the Family Friendly Museum Award, particularly from our friends at Kids in Museums who champion creativity and family-centred museum experiences. It means so much to us to have our programme recognised in an award voted for and judged by families themselves. We’d like to share a huge thank you to everyone who nominated V&A Dundee and we hope to see you in the museum for lots more family fun across the summer!”
This spring, families across the UK voted for their favourite heritage attraction on the Kids in Museums website. A panel of museum experts, children, families and young people then whittled down hundreds of nominations to a shortlist of 18 heritage attractions. V&A Dundee is shortlisted alongside three other visitor attractions in the Best Medium Museum category: the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, The Amelia Scott in Tunbridge Wells, and the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle.
During 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 2025. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in October.