Narberth Museum is in the running for a prestigious award.

It is one of 10 museums and galleries chosen to compete for a £100,000 Art Fund prize for Museum of the Year and £10,000 Clore Award for Learning.

Celebrating the very best UK museums and galleries, the prize highlights the innovative and creative ways that museums bring objects and collections to life, looking specifically at activity undertaken in 2012.

As well as the £100,000 prize for Museum of the Year, one of the 10 finalist museums will receive £10,000 for the Clore Award for Learning, which recognises achievements in learning programmes for children and young people. Both winners will be drawn from the 10 finalists.

From Pembrokeshire to Wakefield, the impressive finalist museums have enthralled millions of visitors with fascinating objects - a Viking iron board, a homemade orchestron, a live beehive, an Egyptian mummified cat and even a beloved walrus are just some of the intriguing items that have inspired.

From now until the end of May, five judges will travel the UK to see the 10 museums, revealing the winners on June 4.

Celebrating the rich history, culture and community of the Welsh market town, Narberth Museum is a modern, dynamic centre within the walls of a recently renovated industrial warehouse.

It is run mainly by an enthusiastic and dedicated team of volunteers who, when the museum was closed in 2003, endeavoured to raise funds and re-establish it following the sale of its original premises.

Their tireless work has enabled the museum to emerge as a successful contemporary cultural hub in the local area where people can engage with their pasts.

Chairman of the museum trustees, Clr. Henry Langen, was delighted to tell his fellow council members of the museum's shortlisting success at their monthly meeting on Tuesday night and said the staff and volunteers were anxiously awaiting the final announcement.

The other 2013 finalists are: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead; Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury; Dulwich Picture Gallery, London; The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield; Horniman Museum and Gardens, London; Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow; Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge; Preston Park Museum, Stockton-on-Tees; William Morris Gallery, London.

News is a credit

"This news is a credit to the dedication of curator Pauline Griffiths, her staff, the volunteers and the friends of the museum," said County Councillor Wynne Evans. "They should all be congratulated."

And he added: "At a recent meeting with Mrs. Griffiths, we are looking at ways of making the museum the main tourist information point for the town. This will hopefully attract more footfall and introduce many to the delights of what is a truly wonderful museum. I would encourage more local people to visit also, as I am sure they too will have a memorable visit."