Fife museum in line for award.

‘Fantastic achievement’ as Andrew Carnegie Birthplace attraction in running for recognition

The Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum has been shortlisted for a family-friendly museum award.

Charity Kids in Museums awards the prize annually to one museum, gallery, historic home or heritage site in the UK which goes the extra mile to provide an experience for families.

It is the only museum award to be judged by families.

A panel of experts whittled down more than 800 nominations to create a shortlist.

The birthplace museum, housed in the philanthropist’s family home and birthplace in Dunfermline, is vying against five others in the small museums category and against 15 for the overall family friendly museum award.

It will compete against the likes of the Devil’s Porridge Museum near Gretna, which was the largest munitions factory during the First World War, and Parc Howard which tells the story of Llanelli.

It’s a big year for the museum as it is the centenary of the death of Carnegie, the steel magnate who emigrated from Fife to America where he made his fortune before giving it all away.

Learning officer Lynsey Anderson said: “We are absolutely delighted to be nominated.

“The front-of-house team work incredibly hard to make everyone feel welcome, and it is great that they are getting recognition for this.”

Kids in Museums began the award in 2004.

Previous winners include Leeds City Museum, York Art Gallery and the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall.

Emmajane Avery, chairwoman of Kids in Museums, said: “It’s great to see the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum on the shortlist for this year’s family friendly museum award.

“To make it to the shortlist in our most competitive year yet is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the hard work staff have put in to create an enjoyable experience for families.

“We were seriously impressed by the great range and quality of activities the museum is putting on with a limited budget.”

The museum will now be visited by undercover family judges who will assess the entrants against the Kids in Museums manifesto.

Their experiences will decide the winners, who will be announced at an awards ceremony in London in October. leclark@thecourier.co.uk

“

We were seriously impressed by the great range and quality of activities the museum is putting on... EMMAJANE AVERY

Picture: Steve Brown Visitor services officer Annie Leverton in the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, which has been shortlisted for a family friendly museum award.