Awards

Awards and standards achieved by RAMM include Museum of the Year 2012, the national Designation Scheme, the Accreditation Scheme for Museums in the United Kingdom and Inspiring Learning for All.

RAMM is one of Exeter City Council’s award-winning services. It subscribes to a range of nationally-recognised standards.

Devon Tourism Awards 2023

Bronze in Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

Recognises large visitor attractions that provide truly memorable visitor experiences and demonstrate excellence across every aspect of the business.

Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice 2023

Travellers’ Choice recognises businesses that earn consistently great reviews. Travellers’ Choice award-winners are among the top 10% of listings on Tripadvisor; select accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently demonstrate a commitment to hospitality excellence.
RAMM is ranked #2 of 268 Attractions in Exeter.

Devon Tourism Awards 2022

Gold in Accessible and Inclusive Tourism

Recognises tourism businesses providing truly memorable visitor experiences for everyone, particularly those with accessibility requirements, and demonstrating excellence across every aspect of the business.

Devon Tourism Awards 2021

Gold in Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism

Recognises tourism businesses committed to being sustainable, responsible and ethical in how they operate and interact with customers, the wider community and the environment. 

Designation Scheme 2020

Arts Council England’s Designation Scheme has identified RAMM’s George Montagu’s 19th-century collection of molluscs and World Cultures collection as pre-eminent collections of national and international importance. RAMM is committed to providing high-quality services which deliver the fullest possible access to the collections. With support from the Scheme, the museum takes a leadership role in the sector.  RAMM helps other institutions by sharing expertise, offering advice and lending objects or materials.

The Designation Scheme aims to identify and celebrate the pre-eminent collections of national and international importance held in England’s non-national museums, libraries and archives, based on their quality and significance.

Exeter Living Awards 2019

RAMM won top accolade at the Exeter Living Awards: the Leisure and Tourism Award and the overall Platinum Award for best category winner. The judges said “We were truly blown away by RAMM’s submission: the quality and range of work, and the sheer number of people who have enjoyed its offering. Here’s to another 150 years!”

Society for Museum Archaeology Annual Awards for Excellence 2019

Winner of the Collaborative Partnership Award for Minecraft at RAMM. The award recognised the partnership working that delivered RAMM’s Minecraft project over 2017-19

Visit England Quality Assured Visitor Attraction 2019

RAMM is an assessed and accredited as a Quality Rose museum.

Museums + Heritage Awards 2018

Best Shop with turnover under £500k

This award celebrates best practice in museum and heritage retailing, looking not only at profit but the entire retail operation over the past year. The judges were particularly impressed by how well the Shop at RAMM reflects both the permanent and temporary collections of the museum.

Devon Tourism Awards

Silver in Large Attraction of the Year 2018

Gold in Large Attraction of the Year 2017

Judges described RAMM as ‘an attractive offer that will enchant guests of all ages and preferences’.

Silver in Access and Inclusivity in 2017

Judges commented that ‘RAMM offers a great value day out for both young and old and is clearly committed to make the museum accessible for all’.

Bronze in Artistic Cultural and Learning Experience in 2017

Awarded to businesses that have gone the extra mile to deliver an outstanding, innovative and memorable experience. Judges comments that ‘the exhibits are beautifully laid out with easy to follow information cards and with friendly verbal advice given’.

TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2018

This prestigious award is given to businesses that consistently earn high ratings from TripAdvisor travellers. It places RAMM in the top-performing 10% of all businesses worldwide on TripAdvisor.

Favourite Museum or Historical Attraction in the Primary Times Reader Star Awards 2017

RAMM was chosen by parents of children aged 4 to 11 across Devon, as Favourite Museum in the Primary Times Reader Star Awards 2017. When voting for the museum readers mentioned the interesting artefacts, interactive exhibits, historical stories and diverse family events.

Top Family Favourite Attraction in the Exeter Baby Activities Awards 2017

The awards recognise those businesses, voluntary organisations and individuals who go that extra mile to make Exeter a vibrant and exciting city for families.

Arts and Health South West Awards 2016

Arts & Health South West, an umbrella group promoting and supporting arts activities to benefit people’s health, has recognised RAMM’s health and wellbeing programme with a Highly Commended prize.

Alzheimers Society Awards 2016

RAMM reached the finals in the Dementia-Friendly Partnership Alzheimers Society Awards for its partnership with Franklyn Hospital.

Taste of the West Hospitality and Retail Awards 2013

Describing it as “a great all round experience” the RAMM Café by Otterton Mill has received a Gold Award in the Taste of the West Hospitality and Retail Awards 2013. The judges went on the say that the food was great local food, the prices fair, the surroundings clean and comfortable and the staff smiley.

Collections Trust Awards 2013

RAMM won the Collections Best Practice Award 2013. Described by the judges as “A really inspiring project”, the entry focused on its Collections Review. “Isn’t this how all museums should work” they commented.

RIBA Awards 2013

RAMM and its architects, Allies and Morrison (A&M), won three awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The RIBA Awards programme champions and celebrates the best of British architecture. In a ceremony held at the STEAM museum in Swindon on 12 June, RAMM was chosen from the shortlist as one of the South West’s award winners. RAMM also won two of the three South West Special Awards for Conservation and as Building of the Year.

Museum of the Year 2012

Praised by the judges for its ‘ambition and imagination’, RAMM was crowned ‘Museum of the Year’ and awarded the £100,000 Art Fund Prize for its redevelopment project. Chair of Judges, Lord Smith of Finsbury, said “The new Royal Albert Memorial Museum is quite simply a magical place.”

Visitor Attraction of the Year 2012

RAMM won the Devon Tourism Awards 2012 Visitor Attraction of the Year category jointly with Exmoor Zoo and the Silver Award in the tourist attraction category of the South West Awards

NAS Design Partnership Awards 2012

Museum specialists The Benbow Group in partnership with designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) and Exeter City Council have won the prestigious 2012 National Association of Shopfitters (NAS) Design Partnership award for the stunning displays at RAMM. The award recognises excellence in interior design and shopfitting contracting with emphasis on the special partnership between designer/architect and contractor that high quality contracts such as these demand. The museum partnership won the Non-retail category.

The Accreditation Scheme for Museums in the United Kingdom

The Arts Council awarded the redeveloped RAMM full accreditation status after reopening in December 2012. The Scheme sets nationally agreed standards for museums in the UK. RAMM is one of almost 1,800 museums participating in the scheme and demonstrating their commitment to managing collections effectively for the enjoyment and benefit of users.

Event Design Awards 2012

Entered for this prestigious international award by our exhibition designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates, RAMM won the Best Museum Environment 2012 category.

Museums & Heritage 2012 Awards

RAMM was shortlisted for the Museums & Heritage 2012 awards.

AAM Muse Awards 2012

Ghostwriter, the digital art by award-winning Blast Theory commissioned for the 2011 reopening, received an honourable mention from the judges of the prestigious American Association of Museums Muse Awards.

Inspiring Learning for All

Inspiring Learning for All is a Arts Council England initiative to transform the way in which museums, libraries and archives deliver and engage users in learning.