Hands On! - International Association of Children in Museums

What Hands On! - International Association of Children in Museums does

Hands On! International Association of Children in Museums is a non-profit professional association founded in 2011 and registered in Graz, Austria (ZVR-Zahl: 946459959), serving approximately 120 member organizations across 40 countries. The association operates as a community-led network for children's museum professionals, offering three core products: the biennial Hands On! Conference (15th edition scheduled for November 2025 in Liverpool, UK), the annual Children in Museums Award co-founded with the European Museum Academy in 2011, and a portfolio of EU Creative Europe and Erasmus+ projects (including 21st Century Children, Ed.G.E, Unplugged, Looda, TOMATO, and MuseumAR) focused on capacity building, gender equality education, AR storytelling, and accessibility for children's museums. The organization is governed by a seven-person board composed of directors of leading European children's museums (FRida & freD Graz, Junges Museum Frankfurt, ZOOM Kindermuseum Vienna, Sladovna Pisek, Le Vaisseau Strasbourg, and Creaviva Bern), and executes operations with a small executive team of approximately five staff.

The association's revenue model is built on four streams: annual Institutional Membership at €350, Corporate Membership at €600, Children in Museums Award entry fees (€295 for non-members, €225 for members), and discounted biennial conference fees. The €7,500 Award cash prize is sponsored by Mercis B.V. (the publisher of Miffy), reflecting a strategic co-branding relationship. The organization does not operate a proprietary technology platform; it relies on standard web infrastructure (website, MailChimp for newsletter distribution, Google Analytics) and project-based digital deliverables such as the TOMATO web platform and mobile app. Its distribution and acquisition channels are predominantly event-driven (biennial conferences, annual Award ceremonies) and partner-driven (EU project consortia), supplemented by organic social media presence on Instagram and Facebook.

Hands On! positions itself as Europe's largest network dedicated to children's museum professionals and as a global advocate for museum-based learning. The organization provides members with networking access, professional development, visibility through Members' Monday showcases, reduced conference and award fees, and access to EU-funded project outputs. The Children in Museums Award has been recognized by NEMO (The Network of European Museums Organisations) as one of Europe's most prestigious museum awards, lending institutional credibility. The association does not have external investors, parent company, or subsidiaries; it is funded entirely through membership fees, conference revenues, EU project grants, and corporate sponsorship.

Name

Hands On! - International Association of Children in Museums

Legal name

Hands On! International Association of Children in Museums

Website

https://hands-on-international.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hands On! is a non-profit professional association based in Graz, Austria, serving approximately 120 member organizations across 40 countries through biennial conferences, the annual Children in Museums Award, and EU-funded capacity-building projects for children's museum professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museum Professional Association Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums (71211)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Museums (THAJADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA), Academic & Education Conference Organizers (THAHACAE)

Keywords

• Children's museum association
• Museum professional network
• Museum education conferences
• Museum industry awards
• Nonprofit professional association

Headquarters

HQ city

Graz

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Membership: Annual membership fee for children's museums, museums, and non-profit organizations offering exhibitions or activities for children and young people. €350 per year.
2. Corporate Membership: Annual membership fee for businesses, consultants, and for-profit organizations developing exhibitions or museum-linked activities for children. €600 per year.
3. Children in Museums Award Entry Fees: Entry fees for the annual Children in Museums Award competition: €295 for non-members, €225 for Hands On! members.
4. Conference Fees: Discounted conference fees for members attending the biennial Hands On! Conference. The conference is a significant member benefit and revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hands On! is a non-profit professional association that serves children's museum professionals globally through three core offerings: an annual Children in Museums Award recognizing excellence in programming for children up to age 14, a biennial Hands On! Conference bringing together 160-400 professionals from around the world, and EU co-funded projects that develop learning tools and methodologies for the sector. The association monetizes engagement through tiered memberships (Institutional at €350/year and Corporate at €600/year), conference registrations, and award entry fees.

Product overview

Hands On! International Association of Children in Museums is a non-profit professional association offering a portfolio of services centered around three core offerings: the biennial Hands On! Conference for international museum professionals, the annual Children in Museums Award celebrating excellence in programming for children up to age 14, and various EU-funded projects (21st Century Children, Ed.G.E, Unplugged, Looda, TOMATO, MuseumAR) focused on capacity building, digital learning tools, and museum accessibility. The organization also provides two tiers of membership (Institutional at €350/year and Corporate at €600/year) offering network access, conference discounts, and promotional opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Children in Museums Award: Annual award celebrating outstanding contributions to engaging children in museum experiences, established in 2011 by European Museum Academy and Hands On!

Products and services

• Children in Museums Award
• Hands On! Conference
• Institutional Membership
• Corporate Membership
• 21st Century Children Project
• TOMATO Project
• Ed.G.E Project
• Unplugged Project
• LOODA Project
• MuseumAR Project

Quantifiable outcome

• 400 participants from over 38 countries at 2015 Amsterdam Conference
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, major and minor.

• Eureka! The National Children's MuseumflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Host of the 15th Hands On! Conference 'Making a Difference' in Liverpool, UK, November 2025. This is the largest annual gathering for children's museum professionals in the calendar.
• Mercis B.V.coreOthers · 4 October 2024Sponsors the Children in Museums Award with a €7,500 cash prize and provides the Miffy trophy (bronze statue of Dick Bruna's character). Mercis is the publisher and rights owner of Miffy.
• Creaviva, Zentrum Paul KleemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 October 2023Host of the 14th Hands On! Conference 'CREATE THE MAGIC! - for a better tomorrow' in Bern, Switzerland, October 2023. 160 participants from around the world attended.
• TOMATO Project (EU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Technologies for an Open Museum Accessible To All - Creative Europe Programme initiative with 13 partners from 8 EU countries. Aims to break down cultural and social barriers limiting museum access. Includes pedagogical handbooks, physical Tomato Kit, mobile app, and web platform. Lead Partner: K.ANE., Greece.
• Looda Project (EU)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2022Erasmus+ project improving skills of children's museum operators to understand their social context and measure the impact of their activities. Project duration: 01/03/2022 - 01/11/2023.
• Unplugged Project (EU)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2021Erasmus+ project developing a board game of quests for understanding 21st-century societal challenges and developing critical thinking for primary school children. Project duration: 01/03/2021 - 01/02/2023.
• MuseumAR Project (EU)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2021Storifying An Augmented Future For Museums - developing training materials and resources for museum professionals and artists applying AR tools in connection with storytelling. Project duration: 01/03/2021 - 01/03/2023.
• Ed.G.E Project (EU)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2019EU-cofunded project educating and raising awareness on gender equality and gender-based violence through art-based educational methodology involving children's museums and schools. Project duration: 01/10/2019 - 30/09/2021.
• 21st Century Children Project (EU)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2019EU Creative Europe co-funded project showcasing the potential of children's museums as future-oriented 21st century learning spots. Project duration: 01/09/2019 - 01/02/2022. Award nominees become honorary ambassadors of this project.
• Rijksmuseum AmsterdammajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2015Main organizer of the 10th Hands On! Conference in Amsterdam, 2015. Co-organized with the Jewish Cultural Quarter, Science Center NEMO, National Maritime Museum, and Netherlands Museum Association.
• MailChimp (Rocket Science Group)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2015Marketing automation platform used for newsletter distribution. Stores subscriber email addresses and personal data on servers in the USA. Hands On! has a data processing agreement with MailChimp.
• European Museum AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Co-founder of the Children in Museums Award together with Hands On! International. The EMA collaborates on award ceremonies and judging processes, lending institutional credibility and expertise to the award program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ICOM - International Council of Museums: ICOM is the global professional and accrediting body for museums, with national committees and an annual conference (ICOM General Conference). It is comparable as a global museum professional membership organization, although it operates at vastly larger scale and across all museum disciplines.
• American Alliance of Museums (AAM): AAM is the largest US museum professional association, offering membership, accreditation, and an annual meeting. As the dominant broad-scope museum association in North America, it is comparable to Hands On! as a peer network serving museum professionals but at much greater scale and with broader museum-type coverage.
• Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC): ASTC is the international professional association for science centres and museums, running an annual conference and offering member services. It is a peer in operating model and target audience (informal-learning institutions), but it is much larger and focused on science centres rather than children's museums.
• NEMO - Network of European Museums Organisations: The pan-European umbrella network representing museums organisations across all disciplines. While not focused narrowly on children's museums, NEMO is a peer insofar as it operates in the same European museum professional-association space, advocates for the sector, and is referenced by Hands On! as the body that validated the Children in Museums Award.

Regional players

• Museums Association (MA, UK): The UK's membership body for museum professionals, providing training, publications, and an annual conference. MA is a peer as a national/regional museum professional association with a similar operating model (membership, events, advocacy), but it focuses on the UK market rather than a global children's-museum niche.

Direct peers

• European Museum Academy (EMA): EMA is a European non-profit foundation recognising excellence in museums through awards and educational programmes. It is a direct peer in mission and a strategic partner — EMA co-runs the Children in Museums Award with Hands On! and adds institutional credibility to the judging process.
• Association of Children's Museums (ACM): The US-based national membership association for children's museums; ACM is the closest functional analog to Hands On!, offering membership, an annual conference, and professional development for children's-museum professionals, but serving a North American (primarily US) audience rather than global/European.

Emerging players

• Ecsite (European Collaborative for Science, Industry and Technology Exhibitions): Ecsite is the European membership network for science centres and museums, running an annual conference and professional programmes. Ecsite overlaps with Hands On! both as a sibling professional network for European museum professionals and as a past co-host of a Hands On! conference in Graz (2016).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/handson_int
• Facebookfacebook.com/HOI.AssociationChildrensMuseums
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hands-on---international-association-of-children's-museums

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hands On! - International Association of Children in Museums