Education secretary Ed Balls has pledged £25,000 to introduce a “flexible family ticket” for museums. The new concessionary ticket is one of the recommendations in the new Kids in Museums Manifesto, and the announcement was made by Balls at the British Museum launch of the manifesto yesterday.

“The present two-plus-two concession whish is only available to a family of two adults and two children ignores the shape of the modern British family” said Dea Birkett, director of Kids in Museums. “It takes no account of single parent families and it is the lower income families that tend to miss out. The new flexible family ticket will take into account the different make-ups of families visiting museums and we think it will give a lead to all sorts of other public attractions that will follow suit”.

A “flexible family ticket watch” is to be set up by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Kids in Museums whereby museums will report back on the needs and wishes of families visiting museums.

The flexible ticket is one of a number of surprising revelations in the manifesto, including the fact that museum visitors don’t want hands-on computer driven attractions any more, preferring traditional object displays.

“Visitors have said they don’t want unlimited hands-on any more, they can do all that at home now” said Birkett,. “What they want is to touch a real bone, they want to be tactile and get a sensual experience. Let’s face it, the technology is never going to be as good as Avatar. They want the thrill of the real”.

The manifesto also calls for pram parks in museums, adding to the convenience of mothers with small children and other visitors who often find large buggies impeding their access to objects, .

Visitors have called for flexible family tickets for paid exhibitions and institution, too, instead of the “two-and-two” system which only gives concessions for two adults with two children.