The Museum of Ethnography a Finalist for Prestigious International Award

The Museum of Ethnography has been named a finalist for the globally renowned Children in Museums Award 2025 with its unique sleepover experience, “Spend the Night at the Museum!”. The programme stands alongside top institutions such as Singapore’s Children’s Museum, Dubai’s OliOli, the UK’s Showtown in Blackpool, and the El Paso La Nube STEAM Discovery Center in Texas.

The award recognises innovative practices, educational programmes, and exhibitions that inspire curiosity in young audiences and foster learning through engaging museum experiences. The jury values not only creativity, but also how a project can reshape museum thinking and practice both nationally and internationally.

What sets the Museum of Ethnography’s initiative apart is its ability to offer children a memorable experience while staying true to the museum’s mission. The sleepover programme—available for families and school groups—caters to a hidden desire among visitors: to explore the museum after hours. A specially designed space makes this possible, doubling as both a sleeping area and an exhibition-building activity zone. The setting includes a partially constructed exhibition area and a ‘storage’ room filled with artefacts and research tools. Participants use these to create their own displays on the theme of sleep culture and even build their own sleeping spaces, depending on the length of the session.

Selected by the European Museum Academy jury as one of the best children’s museum projects globally, this Budapest-based innovation offers a playful yet meaningful environment. Through the universally relatable theme of sleep, it introduces participants to ethnography and museum work. By encouraging collaboration, whether among schoolmates or families, the programme temporarily reshapes group dynamics in a creative and respectful setting. The museum’s welcoming atmosphere and its focus on global traditions help shift attention away from the digital world towards face-to-face interaction, cooperation, and shared responsibility.

The popularity of “Spend the Night at the Museum!” speaks for itself—this school year’s sessions are already sold out. Booking is strongly recommended for the upcoming autumn dates: 26 September, 3, 10, 17 October, every Friday in November, as well as 5 and 12 December 2025. Please note, the programme is conducted in Hungarian!

In addition to this achievement, the Museum of Ethnography recently won two international design awards for its ZOOM exhibition catalogue: a Silver A’ Design Award in the Printed and Published Media category, and a Gold Indigo Award in Book and Graphic Design.