Family Friendly

The grants enable museums to make their galleries, cafes, facilities, activities, marketing and social media more family friendly and accessible.

The programme this year offers £3,500 (seven grants of £500) to London’s non-national, non-NPO museums in 2024–2025.

This year’s programme will enable museums to use the Kids in Museums Manifesto as a development tool to create a more permanent welcoming offer to children, families and young people by March 2026.

Applications are now open for 2025–2026

Closing date for applications is Mon 19 May 2025 at 5pm. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.

The grants will support projects that enable museums to:

• make museum gallery spaces (by creating signage, sensory maps or visual stories), cafes and facilities more family friendly and accessible for all
• create backpacks, resources, digital content, trails, family-related interpretation, and/or new family workshops
• create quiet areas, dressing up areas or family corners
• work with children, families and or young people to ensure events, displays, exhibitions, evaluation, marketing and/or social media platforms are more accessible and welcoming
• make museums a great place to visit for children, families and young people

Projects will need to be completed by Sun 8 Mar 2026. More information on eligibility and the type of projects that will be supported can be found in the guidance for applicants below.

If you would like to apply, please complete and return an application form, along with any supporting documents to [email protected], no later than 5pm on Mon 19 May 2025.

If you are unsure whether your project would be eligible, have questions about the criteria or would like to discuss your project in more detail, please get in touch with Rachael Crofts, or join us at one of our online coffee morning sessions on Thu 24 Apr or Thu 1 May.

We will announce our current grant museums for 2025–2026 in June once the assessment panel has met and the applicants have been notified of the outcome of their application.

The grants funded the following museums:

• Bentley Priory Museum
• Havering Museum
• Headstone Manor and Museum
• Household Cavalry Museum
• Kingston Museum
• Markfield Beam Engine
• Museum of Richmond
• Museum of Wimbledon
• World Rugby Museum

Projects were completed by March 2025 and detailed case studies will be available from June 2025 onwards.

The grants funded the following museums:

• Charles Dickens Museum
• Dulwich Picture Gallery
• Freud Museum
• Jozef Pilsudski Institute of London
• Kingston Museum
• Museum of Richmond
• Museum of the Order of St John
• Society of Antiquaries

The grants funded the following museums:

• Association of Anaesthetists (Anaesthetists' Heritage Centre)
• Brent Museum and Archives
• Bruce Castle Museum
• Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
• John Wesley’s House and the Museum of Methodism
• London Museum of Water and Steam
• The Musical Museum
• Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret
• The William Morris Society (Kelmscott House)