27 March 2013, we will know if Archeon received the 2013 Children’s Museum Award. Yhis award is an initiative by “Hands On!”, the Association of Children’s Museums and the International European Museum Academy which is a European Museum Expertise Foundation.

Archeon is one of 15 candidates from 9 countries worldwide. The Children’s Museum Award has been established by the European Museum Academy and Hands On! International for the recognition of excellence in the specific sector of international children’s museums. The Jury is looking especially for the creative use of exhibitions and programmes with an innovative interpretative approach, which should be meaningful to the relevant age-group up to 14 years old.
An important background consideration is to investigate the ways in which a candidate is likely to change the course of museum thinking or museum practice in these respects, nationally and internationally. That is why special attention is given to imaginative interpretation and presentation.

INFORMATION ON THE EUROPEAN MUSEUM ACADEMY
EMA is a non-profit foundation established to reflect museums at the international level, to promote research on museography and museology as a high cultural activity, to provide constructive criticism and promote discussion on new exhibitions and museums, and to diffuse museological knowledge and ideas among members of the profession. It aims to promote the conception and development of new as well as of traditional museums as tools of social change. Thirty countries are currently represented within the EMA organisation. EMA co-operates with Hands On! International for this Award. EMA members of the Jury of the Award are also members of the EMA Pool of Experts.

INFORMATION ON HANDS ON! INTERNATIONAL
Hands On! International (HO!I), the Association of Children’s Museums, is the international professional organisation representing and advocating for its non-profit member institutions. It actively stimulates the creation and development of children’s museums (including science centres, large collections based institutions serving young visitors) and more space for cultural and educational activities for children and young people. HO!I supports the important role of children’s museums as centres where play inspires creativity, informal and lifelong learning.