Voting for the "Museum Character Awards 2023" will begin at 12:00 on Tuesday, July 25th on the museum information site "IM [Internet Museum]" (hereinafter "IM") operated by Tanseisha.
[Museum Character Award URL] https://www.museum.or.jp/museum-chara
The Museum Character Awards will introduce museum mascots submitted by Museums, science museums, zoos, aquariums, and other institutions across Japan in IM. An online popularity vote will determine the most popular museum mascot in Japan that year. Through unique characters that reflect the characteristics of each museum, we aim to stimulate interest in the museum itself and create an opportunity for more people to visit museums.
The deadline for voting in 2023 is Thursday, September 7th at 12:00. Please find your favorite museum character from the entries and cast your vote. Let's support these unique characters and liven up museums across the country.
*For voting instructions, please see the Museum Character Awards webpage (https://www.museum.or.jp/museum-chara).
From "IM"
Last year's results
In 2022, out of 63 characters entered from museums across Japan and a total of 157,836 votes, "Moon Dad" (Kai Kogane Village/Yunoku Gold Mine Museum/Yamanashi Prefecture) won the Grand Prix with 30,033 votes, the highest number of votes ever. An IM reporter personally visited the museum of the character selected as the Grand Prix winner, and presented the award certificate and plaque at the award ceremony. In addition, a report on the Kai Kogane Village/Yunoku Gold Mine Museum was published in IM as a "Grand Prix Special Feature."
Comment from Mikio Furukawa, Editor-in-Chief of IM [Internet Museum]
This project was started to make museums more accessible to people who feel that museums are too intimidating, and this year marks the 14th time it has been held. The response has grown every year, with last year's total number of votes being 9.8 times higher than the first time. In recent years, appeals have been made more actively on social media, creating new connections between museums and fans. We hope that the popularity vote for the museum mascot will encourage people to visit the museum.
What is IM [Internet Museum]?
This is one of Japan's largest museum information websites, introducing approximately 8,000 museums across the country, with the concept of "Life with Museum."
In addition to information about museum facilities, special exhibitions, events, and more, the site offers a wide range of content, including original reporting, curator recruitment information, and exhibition ticket giveaways, making it popular with museum fans all over the country.
https://www.museum.or.jp/
Please note that this may be subject to change without prior notice.