The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum has beaten off competition from hundreds of museums from around the country to be one of six venues short-listed for the prestigious Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award. 

The Guardian family friendly award recognises a museum's work to make their building and exhibitions welcoming and encompassing of children and families.  Using a 20-point Kids in Museums Manifesto, the award is the only one to be judged by families.  Over the next six weeks, families will be visiting the Herbert anonymously to test the family friendliness and then feed back their experiences to help pick the winner which will be announced in April. 

Mel Corner, Family Learning Officer said "We are so excited to be on the short list! Families are such an important audience for the future of museums and so it is really important that they enjoy visiting us. Coventry has had such a varied and important history and it is great to be able to develop a family offer using this as our inspiration. A lot of hard work by all staff has gone into our work with families, so it is great to be recognised". 

Since re-opening in 2008, the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum has created family-friendly spaces and workshops including an annual play-installation aimed at the under 8s.  The gallery endeavours to create accessible, creative opportunities for families to enjoy together; the teams have worked tirelessly to engage with families not only visiting the gallery but also those who may not have been to the museum before.  

Dea Birkett, Director of Kids in Museums said "Congratulations to the Herbert for deservedly getting on to the six strong shortlist of the Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award. This is testament to all the pioneering, innovative work being done by the museum. Judges were particularly impressed with how the Herbert didn’t just wait for families to come to them, but reached out to those who might not usually go to a museum, and made sure that they were welcome and included. 

Nominations we made last autumn by both the Herbert itself and by visitors and families to the museum.  The long-list was announced in November 2009 and the Herbert was the only Coventry venue to be nominated.  Past winning museums have included Sheffield's Weston Park Museum, and the Pitt Rivers Museum and Oxford Museum of Natural History who were joint winners in 2005. 

The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum is a signatory to the Kids in Museums manifesto.  For more information on the organisation please visit www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk.

Chief Executive Ludo Keston noted "It's such a privilege to be nominated for this award in our 50th anniversary year.  It's an honour to be recognised for all of the hard work that each individual team have done and it's amazing to see how it's all come together to create an important cultural venue that people from all walks of life and ages can enjoy".