Life has been named Best Large Visitor Attraction and has won Gold for Accessibility and Inclusion at a major regional tourism awards event.
The Destination North East England Tourism awards last night (Thursday 19 March) celebrated the region’s best visitor economy businesses, and this year Life was awarded Gold in the prestigious Best Large Visitor Attraction and Accessibility and Inclusion categories.
The Best Large Visitor Attraction award recognises organisations that provide truly memorable visitor experiences and demonstrate excellence across every aspect of the business while the Accessibility and Inclusion award recognises tourism businesses that excel in providing an inclusive customer experience, particularly for those with accessibility requirements.
Judges praised Life for providing a “thoroughly interactive and immersive experience and a seamless visitor journey” as well as being a “model for accessible and inclusive tourism”.
“It’s fantastic to receive these accolades. It means a great deal to the Life team and our trustees who work with such passion to create the best possible experience for all our visitors.
“We aim to be one of the most accessible and inclusive visitor attractions in the UK and this means addressing many physical, digital, and social barriers that can be very difficult for people to cope with. We want everyone to feel not only welcomed but also respected and valued.
“Science centres play a vital role in connecting everyone with science and technology and the part it plays in shaping all our lives. Making this exciting and entertaining lie at the heart of our approach. It’s therefore wonderful to receive such recognition from industry experts.”
Life has developed an international reputation as an accessible and inclusive visitor attraction working closely with partners such as North East Autism Society. This has attracted global acclaim and many accolades including the international Mariano Gago Award (the ‘Oscar’ of the science engagement world) for work with autistic communities.
Life is about to open The Great Dinosaur Escape, which features the largest collection of moving dinosaurs in the north. The collection of 25 prehistoric giants, which includes a 4-metre-high T. rex, is making its UK debut from 28 March.
The awards ceremony took place last night (Thursday 19 March) at Newcastle Civic Centre, bringing together organisations from across the regional visitor economy.