A Family Friendly Museum

“The museum really stood out for its excellent offer for under 5s as well as its good accessibility. A testament to the hard work staff have put in to create an enjoyable experience for families"

 - Emma Jane Avery, Chair, Kids in Museums

At the Great North Museum: Hancock (GNM) we welcome around 470,000 visitors annually, of whom the largest proportion are families. We find that many visitors first visit the museum as a child either with their families or on school visits, they then return to the museum again when they have their own children. We are proud to be a popular choice for families within the local area and are always looking for ways to make the museum more family friendly and as accessible as possible.

In 2019 we were thrilled to win Kids in Museums ‘Family Friendly Award’ in the medium category. There were over 800 nominations, we made a shortlist of six in our category, before going on to win best medium-sized museum. It is the only museum award to be judged entirely by families. Over the years, we have used Kids in Museums manifesto to inform our family friendly journey so to be recognised by them on a national level made us very proud. You can view the Kids in Museums manifesto here.

The manifesto is a great tool to help museums, of all sizes, reflect on what they offer visitors. It is good way to affirm some of the steps you may already be taking and to help with new ideas of what you could do in the future. Here are some of things we do in the GNM;

Be welcoming – The museum is free, although donations are welcomed. We have a designated welcome desk where museum staff are always on hand to welcome visitors to the museum, offer a map and directions and to thank visitors on their way out.  We also have a number of objects around the museum which visitors are encouraged to touch and feel. This is a good way of making some of the collections more accessible. 

Make it easy and comfortable - The museum has two cafes both offer highchairs, child-menus and table service upon on request. We are also part of the Refill scheme, visitors can ask the café to refill their water bottles, no purchase necessary. Breast feeding is welcome throughout the museum, although we have a private screened breast feeding for anyone who may want more privacy. We have seating in every gallery and benches around the museum grounds. Baby changing facilities are available in both the men and women’s toilets. Additionally, we have an accessible toilet with adult changing table. More recently we added booster steps to the toilets to help little ones reach and created a designated buggy park. Lockers are available for £1 non-returnable. We have also created ‘nappy boxes’. We have a well-established Early Years programme and know how easy it is to run short of nappies or wipes. Now we have a supply on hand to help any of our visitors who may find themselves short. Our next step is to create ‘red boxes’ for sanitary products. We also have a designated space for under 5’s, the Mouse House, which offers dress-up, storybooks and a crawling tunnel. 

Remember families come in all shapes and sizes – a large proportion of our visitors are families and we have a very interesting and varied collection which we believe makes family visits diverse and enjoyable. We have a well-established under 5’s programme and offer a range of events throughout the year. We have a mailing list and website which is kept up to date with the newest information. Most of our events are free which helps us to continue to be accessible to as many people as possible. We also offer free trails with objects hidden around the museum for visitors to find, this encourages family learning. 

Be accessible to all – the museum is proud to offer free entry. We are fully accessible with ramps, a small blue badge on site car park, two lifts, and disabled access toilets with one adult changing table. We do not have a permanent picnic area although on weekends and during holidays we do our best to offer a designated packed lunch area. We are always more than happy to receive feedback and further suggestions of what we can do improve. 

Communicate well – We have a comprehensive and well informed website as well as a strong presence on social media platforms; Facebook, twitter and Instagram. We also have printed leaflets and a guidebook available to buy from the museum shop for a small price of £3.99. This cost then goes directly back into supporting the museum.

Work together – We value the importance of engaging with children for displays and exhibitions. We aim to incorporate children’s voices, art work and displays into our temporary exhibitions. And with our permanent galleries we enjoy working on special projects encouraging children to take ownership of the museum and its collections.

To find out more about how we try to a Family Friendly museum please contact the learning team via the email: learning@greatnorthmuseum.org.uk

Here are some quotes from families who nominated us for the award;

“Great sessions for little babies”

“Lovely help with my father who is disabled and spending time explaining to the children at the dippy exhibition. Thank you for making it easy"

“Excellent family friendly museum. Loads of fantastic information and replicas. Visit to Dippy on tour was amazing to see. Staff very friendly and informative. Really good with the children"

“Staff always very friendly and helpful. Have lots of ways to engage children and young people of all ages. Family friendly food in the cafes. Very good exhibits, both educational and fun. Great space (Mouse House) for smaller children to keep them occupied. Excellent shop with lots of fun and educational items and pocket money items. Lots of information about other local attractions. Lockers. Local history included. Space for changing exhibitions/visiting exhibitions (looking forward to Dippy visiting). We go as an extended family – grandma (me), daughter, son in law and grandchildren (two currently aged 5 and 3) and there is always something for all of us. It is also free (although donations welcome)"