Gold in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence for the Great North Museum: Hancock

The Great North Museum: Hancock is celebrating having won an Access for All award at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence ceremony.

Joint Gold winner with Leicester Theatre Trust, the Museum was commended for its excellent facilities for disabled users. The Great North Museum: Hancock strives to meet the needs of all kinds of visitors, through the use of new technology and an innovative approach to access.

The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence celebrates the best of English tourism, promoting healthy industry competition and high standards, helping to ensure England’s place as a world class destination.

Professor Eric Cross, Dean of Cultural Affairs, Newcastle University, said:
""We want as many people as possible to enjoy the fantastic exhibits and events that the Great North Museum has to offer, so it is really satisfying that all our efforts to make the museum as accessible as possible to everyone have been recognised by this national accolade."

Helen White, Head of Museums (Gateshead, Newcastle and Newcastle University) said: “We are delighted to have won this award, particularly as it is so important to be recognised at a national level alongside such prestigious organisations. Since we opened in 2009, the Museum has gone from strength to strength with over 1.7 million visitors enjoying a variety of exhibitions and events. We continue to strive to maintain the standards expected from our ‘Great’ name.”

Since opening in May 2009, the Museum has won over eight awards for everything from fantastic exhibitions and displays to architectural innovation.

The Great North Museum brings together the North East’s premier collections of archaeology, natural history, geology and world cultures under one roof. It incorporates collections from the original Hancock Museum and Newcastle University’s former Museum of Antiquities and the Shefton Museum.

Highlights include a planetarium, a life-size replica T.rex skeleton, mummies from Ancient Egypt, a large scale model of Hadrian’s Wall and a display of many of its treasures, and a superb collection of ancient Greek art and archaeology.

published on: 24 May 2012