Big Pit yesterday welcomed representatives of six museums receiving the Sandford Award for Heritage Education - as well as picking up the award itself.

Big Pit: National Coal Museum - one of the Amgueddfa Cymru National Museums Wales family of museums - has scooped the award for its excellent experience-based education programme, which includes taking visitors 300ft underground to explore the workings of a real coalmine, guided by ex-miners who recount their own experiences of working underground.

The underground experience is strengthened by world-class Museum exhibitions and interactive experiences around the rest of the Big Pit, including a state-of-the-art multi-media underground simulation.

Big Pit, winner of this year's Gulbenkian Prize for Best UK Museum, also tells the stories of mining communities, concentrating in parts on women and children, and the effects of the mining industry.

During 2004, Big Pit worked with Newport Local Education Authority to develop 'Children of the Revolution', a web resource which gives an idea of living and working conditions in Blaenafon during the 19th century, which has been short-listed for the BECTa award for ICT in Education.

Congratulating Big Pit on its success, Welsh Culture Minister Alun Pugh said: "This award is another great achievement for Big Pit and is recognition of the role that the museum has to play in teaching people about the coal mining industry in Wales.

"I am very proud that the Welsh Assembly Government has been able to support this invaluable piece of our industrial heritage."

The Award, given for five years, will be presented by David Lammy MP, UK Minister for Culture and Alun Pugh, Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Welsh Language, Culture and Sport.