CHILDREN IN
MUSEUMS AWARD
CHILDREN IN MUSEUMS AWARD
In autumn 2022, the children's museum Creaviva in Bern won the Children in Museums Award ex aequo with the Leeds Museum & Galleries. The award was presented at a ceremony during the European Museum Academy Conference in Luxembourg.
A large number of museums from different countries had applied for the prize. Both winners received the cash prize of 2500 euros and were allowed to present the bronze statue Miffy in their museum for six months.
In 2022, the prize was awarded for the 10th time. The European Museum Academy and Hands On! International Association of Children in Museums honor institutions that specifically and uniquely address the needs of children.
The Creaviva won the international "Children in Museums Award" for its involvement in the project "Children Curate Klee" and for its tireless 20-year commitment as a supra-regional centre of excellence for experience-oriented and interactive art and culture education. The innovative offers of social relevance, the long-standing efforts to integrate people with disabilities and the consistent implementation of the criteria that distinguish an institution as an outstanding "Home of 21st Century Education" were honored.
Hands On!, the international association for future-oriented offers with children and for children in the museum and exhibition sector, applies five criteria to judge an application. Innovation, quality of learning, inclusion and social impact, information and communication, the professionalism and the education and training of a team. The Creaviva scored outstandingly on all points.
Shortlist
Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia
ZOOM Children's Museum, Vienna, Austria
MAS Museum aan de Stroom, Antwerp, Belgium
Science Museums, University of Aarhus, Denmark
West Zealand Museum, Holbæk, Denmark
Alice – Museum for Children at FEZ-Berlin, Germany
MUBA Children's Museum of Milan, Italy
Tokyo Toy Museum, Japan
National Museum of Natural History of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum, Netherlands
Discover Children's Story Centre, London, United Kingdom
Children's Museum Houston, United States
You would like to get to know more about the institutions? Simply click on the name of the museums and enjoy interesting insights.
Previous Winners of the Award
2022 Kindermuseum Creaviva, Bern, Switzerland & Leeds Museums & Galleries, Leeds, Great Britain
2021 The Dutch Open Air Museum, Arnhem, The Netherlands
2019 Ker ImagiNation, Dakar, Senegal
2018 The Keppel Centre for Art Education, National Gallery Singapore
2017 National Museum of Science and Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
2016 GeoFort, Herwijnen, The Netherlands
2015 Lifetime Achievement Awards: Boston Children’s Museum, USA, & ZOOM Children’s Museum, Vienna, Austria
2014 National Gallery of Denmark (SMK), Copenhagen, Denmark
2013 Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, USA
2012 Tropenmuseum Junior, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
SUPPORT
The Children of Museums Award Foundation CMA is supported by Mercis bv in Amsterdam. They donate the bronze statue called “Miffy” as well as the prize money. Mercis bv was founded in 1971 by Dick Bruna with the aim of cultivating the philosophy of “respect for art and the world of a child”.
Miffy's creator Dick Bruna was born in Utrecht in 1927. He not only wrote and illustrated 124 picture books, but also designed many posters and book covers for the Black Bear pocket editions. During a career spanning 60 years, Dick Bruna gained international acclaim. He retired in 2011. Dick Bruna passed away 2017 at the age of 89.
SOCIAL MEDIA
In September last year, the Creaviva was awarded the Children in Museums Award. Together with the co-winner @leedsmuseumsandgalleries, they proudly accepted the trophy “Miffy” from @handson_int.
Until Miffy travels on to Leeds at the beginning of March, she will be at home in the Creaviva. The unique atmosphere did not let Miffy sit on her pedestal any longer. The laughing children and the bright colours made her want to break out of her torpor and discover the Creaviva.
We were delighted to receive the Children in Museums Award from @handson_int together with @leedsmuseumsandgalleries on 9 September 2022.
The jurors paid particular tribute to our long-standing commitment to giving children access to art through their own creative work and through playful mediation, as well as to the structural integration of people with disabilities.
Before our trophy “Miffy” moves on to Leeds next week, she tries to explore every possible corner of the Creaviva. The more she immerses herself in our world, the more colourful she becomes 🎨
For the very last time, our Children in Museums Award trophy Miffy dives into the colourful world of Creaviva!
As of today, she is with our co-winner @leedsmuseumsandgalleries. She leaves us with all the wonderful impressions that make the Creaviva so unique.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who make this uniqueness possible. Passionate staff, warm volunteers, enthusiastic visitors, generous supporters, the inspiring @zentrumpaulklee and all the people out there who care about the Creaviva in some small or big way. You all contributed to us winning this award! Thank you very much ❤️
