Kids in Museums is a charity which has held these prestigious annual awards since 2004 to recognise the most family friendly heritage sites across the UK. It 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 20 heritage attractions.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery in the Best Small Museum category alongside 4 other museums.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, Leader of City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Wolverhampton Art Gallery is a place that welcomes families from all over the city, region and country and I am delighted that the Arts and Culture team’s hard work has been recognised in this way and been shortlisted for the Best Small museum category.

“With one of the country’s best collections of British and American Pop Art, a dedicated Making Space open for families to get creative every day, and a packed schedule of fun, family friendly summer events to enjoy, Wolverhampton Art Gallery is a fantastic place for all ages to visit.”

Over the summer holidays, Wolverhampton Art Galler 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. They will then decide on a winner for each award category and an overall winner of the Family Friendly Museum Award 2026.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in October.

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