The Cowbell Award was created by Dr. Gyula Viga, deputy director and later director of the Herman Ottó Museum in 1997. The award is given to young museologists or other colleagues with several years’ worth of accomplishments who are still in the early stages of their career. The aim of the award is to acknowledge those whose work and achievements inspire the community and can be considered an example for other colleagues to follow.

The award is a small cowbell, which represents how the person is leading the community (‘the herd’) by example. It is passed on from one awardee to the next, based on the previous owner’s choice. In order to decide who should get the award, the current holder of the award is expected to ask for the opinion of previous awardees.