A MUSEUM in Clerkenwell has been nominated for the national Family Friendly Museum award. For the second time, the Museum of the Order of St John was shortlisted for a prize given by the Kids in Museums charity, which aims to make museums more accessible to children.

The museum is in competition with four others in the “small museum” category, dedicated to museums that see fewer than 100,000 visitors per year. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in October.

Susie Batchelor, head of collection and public engagement at the museum, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award, which means so much not only to us, but our community partners and volunteers who work hard for every session.

“We aim to make the museum as welcoming and accessible as we can for families – we are just delighted our families have enjoyed their time with us as much as we have with them.”

To make the final decision, Kids in Museum will send an undercover family to the St John Museum during the summer. The incognito judges will assess the museum against guidelines defined by the charity which outline what a kids-friendly museum should look like.

The Museum of the Order of St John has a collection of over 60,000 objects which tell the story of the Order of St John, the oldest surviving chivalric order, and the St John Ambulances.

The collection includes ancient books, transcripts and other rare objects.