Oxford has scooped up two wins in the 'Oscars of the museum world’.

Two Oxford University museums received awards at the 20th Museums and Heritage Award, a UK wide competition to celebrate innovative and groundbreaking initiatives, on May 11. 

Oxford University Museum of Natural History won 'partnership of the year' for its exhibition "Meat and the Future: A partnership to feed minds and bodies". 

READ MORE: Oxford Museum in top five shortlist for Art Fund’s museum of the year prize

The exhibition involves familiar scenes such as a butcher’s shop window, a bistro interior, and a supermarket ready meal aisle, and visitors are invited to think about the different levels of meat consumption in different countries.

It also presents a range of alternatives to the way we eat now, from simply eating less meat to adopting high-tech alternatives. 

The exhibition sits alongside the Eat the Future café, run by Vaults and Gardens, where visitors are offered informed food choices developed, and is run in partnership with Oxford research group Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP).

Director of Oxford University Museum of Natural History Prof Paul Smith said on the exhibition: "The Museum and Heritage Awards have rapidly become the gold standard in the sector and competition is fierce, so it is hugely rewarding for the museum and the exhibition to be have been recognised for this work."

The University's History of Science museum won the 'Visitor Welcome Award' for its front of house team. 

The judges said they were "impressed by this Front of House team and the storytelling which they used to create participative and collaborative experiences for its visitors". 

Director of Oxford History of Science Museum Dr Silke Ackermann described the win as a 'real honour'. 

She said: "Our Visitor Experience staff are the first point of contact for the public and they are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about engaging people with the museum’s collections and stories. 

"This award is a testament to the team’s hard work and dedication."

Previous winners from the competition have included Sir David Attenborough alongside hundreds of individuals and organisations from across the cultural sector.

Director of the annual Museums and Heritage Awards Anna Preedy commented: “The awards have become the gold standard in the sector and the recognition that winners receive is a key motivator for staff and volunteers alike, boosting confidence by having their work promoted on a global scale.”

It has been a good season for Oxford's universities, with the Story Museum among five shortlisted for the Art Fund’s museum of the year prize.

The Story Museum offers unique galleries dedicated to stories ideas for families to explore.

Read more from this author

This story was written by Shosha Adie

She joined the team in 2022 as a digital reporter.   

To get in touch with her email: Shosha.Adie@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter: @ShoshaAdie

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