Submitted by Tricia Harnett on Wed, 22/07/2020 - 10:15
We are delighted to announce that the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge has been shortlisted for the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award From Home, it was announced today.
Kids in Museums has run a prestigious annual award for the past 15 years, recognising the most family friendly heritage sites in the UK. This year, the charity asked families and museums to vote for what they thought was the best online activity for families during lockdown. A panel of museum experts whittled down over 400 nominations to a shortlist of 26 museums. This is the second year in a row the Museum was shortlisted for a Family Friendly Museum award by Kids in Museums.
This year, the University Museum of Zoology is being recognised for its recent series of livestreamed films, which were part of the annual Zoology Live! event. The Museum team put together a series of shows with wildlife films and interviews with local wildlife experts, which were broadcast live via YouTube every day from 22-27 June. Viewers had the opportunity to ask the experts live questions on a whole range of topics, from setting pitfall traps, pond dipping, wildlife film making, bats, butterflies and bird song.
Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Director of the Museum, Professor Rebecca Kilner said; ‘I am so pleased the Museum team has been shortlisted for this award. The whole team responded brilliantly to the challenges of working under lockdown and they thoroughly deserve this nomination for all their hard work. Creating a series of interactive live interviews was a new approach for us and the viewing numbers far exceeded our expectations.’
Dr Roz Wade, Learning Officer and event organiser said ‘Due to the unusual circumstances this year we couldn’t hold the event in the Museum, but we were determined to put the event online, in such a way that people could still join in. The experts were amazing, and were put on the spot with live questions from adults and children alike. We had some great feedback and are delighted that children were keen to share their animal sightings and creative makes with us. We are very proud to be nominated for this national award.’
University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge is vying against four other museums in the ‘Best Film’ category.
Over the summer holidays, family judges will judge the entries from each group and their feedback will decide a winner and highly commended award for each category. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in October.
Follow the Family Friendly Museum Award From Home on Twitter by following @kidsinmuseums and #FamilyFriendlyMuseum.
The Family Friendly Museum Award From Home has been made possible by funding from Arts Council England.
About the Museum:
The University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge is temporarily closed due to the current social measures, however it is one of the largest and most important natural history collections in the UK, with an extraordinarily rich history dating back to 1814. In 2018 the Museum reopened after a five-year, £4.1million redevelopment – including nearly £2 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund – to reveal thousands of incredible specimens from across the animal kingdom, including whales, elephants, a giraffe, giant ground sloth, insects, corals as well as items collected by Charles Darwin.
1. For more information please email Tricia Harnett, Marketing Assistant: pjh202@cam.ac.uk.
2. The Museum is closed at the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Updates for when visitors will be able to safely return will be posted on our website and social media channels.
3. For more information about the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, please visit: www.museum.zoo.cam.ac.uk
https://museumofzoologyblog.com/
4. Find us on Twitter Facebook Instagram
5. The University Museum of Zoology is embedded within the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge www.zoo.cam.ac.uk
About Kids in Museums
We are a 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 Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The full shortlist for the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award from Home is:
Best Film
- Cooper Gallery, Barnsley – Wow Wednesdays
- Florence Nightingale Museum, London – Meet Miss Nightingale
- London Fire Brigade Museum – The Great Fire of London
- National Football Museum, Manchester - Kicking Off Your Creativity
- University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge - Zoology Live! Online Festival
Best Social Media Activity
- Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft - Virtual Museum Club
- National Museums Liverpool - My Home is My Museum
- National Museums Wales - Minecraft Your Museum
- The Novium Museum, Chichester - Virtual Roman Week 2020
- Royal Academy, London - attRAct weekly challenges
Best Website Activity
- Historic Dockyard Chatham - Museum from Home: Arts Award Discover
- The Mary Rose, Portsmouth - Things to Make and Do!
- Museum of Cardiff - Lockdown Legion
- National Galleries Scotland - Home is Where the Art is
- National Videogame Museum, Sheffield - Create Your Own Pixel Art Character
Going the Extra Mile
- Colchester and Ipswich Museums - Museum From Home activity packs
- Dacorum Heritage - Stockpiling Stories
- National Science and Media Museum, Bradford - Distributing Printed Learning Resources to families in BD5
- Seven Stories, Newcastle - Something to smile about - supporting families in East Newcastle
- The Whitworth, Manchester – Still Parents
Best International Digital Activity
- Andy Warhol Museum, USA - Warhol Making It Videos
- Glazer Children’s Museum, USA - GCM@Home
- The Glucksman, Republic of Ireland - Creativity At Home
- The Museum of Childhood Ireland Project - Project 2020 Together, Le Chéile
- National Gallery Singapore - #SmallBigDreamersatHome
- Rijksmuseum, Netherlands - Key Challenge
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.HeritageFund.org.uk.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on
https://www.facebook.com/HeritageFundUK/
https://twitter.com/HeritageFundUK
https://www.instagram.com/heritagefunduk/
#NationalLotteryHeritageFund
University of Cambridge Museums is a consortium of the eight University Museums and the Botanic Garden, supported by Arts Council England. The consortium includes: Fitzwilliam Museum, Kettle's Yard, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Museum of Zoology, Museum of Classical Archaeology, Whipple Museum of the History of Science, The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences and The Polar Museum. The University's collections are a world-class resource for researchers, students and members of the public representing the country’s highest concentration of internationally important collections, all within walking distance of the City Centre. www.museums.cam.ac.uk
