National Museum of Scotland
With thousands of amazing objects across multiple galleries, the Museum offers you a world of discovery all under one roof
Visitor information for National Museum of Scotland
Admission details:
Free entry
Opening hours:
Open daily, 10:00 - 17:00
Closed 25 Dec. Open 26 Dec, 12:00 – 17:00. Open 1 Jan, 12:00 – 17:00.
What's on
- Event
Find Out Fridays
10 Jan – 27 Jun and 15 Aug – 19 Dec 2025, every Friday afternoon during term time 13:30 – 16:00Drop-in Friday fun for families of all ages.Free - Event
Curiosity Club
Sat 29 Mar - Sat 29 Nov, 10:30 - 12:00Don’t miss our exciting, hands-on sessions for curious kids ages 7-11. - Event
Sensory Sunday
Sun 4 May – Sun 5 Oct, 11:00 - 12:00 and 14:00 - 15:00Exciting, hands-on sensory play sessions for children with additional support needs.
Stories from the collections
- Discover
What is the Peebles Hoard?
The Peebles Hoard is a spectacular collection of bronze, leather and wooden material. Dating to the Late Bronze Age (c.1000-800 BCE), it contains several hundred elements from a complex set of objects. A complete sword in a wooden scabbard… - Discover
A unique 3000-year-old hat made of horse hair
In 1953, when Donald John Mackay was out peat-cutting near Kirtomy in the old county of Sutherland with his 10-year-old daughter Babette, his spade brought up a curious mass of hair, bound into coils. Little did he know that he had just… - Discover
Type-writing ahead of time: John Galloway’s inventions
In the early 1800s, Paisley-born John Galloway immigrated to America. Through his letter home in 1868, we can see the progress of his type-writing inventions, years before the typewriter as we know it. - Discover
Women of Cold War Scotland
Scotland played a unique role during the Cold War, a 40-year nuclear stand-off between the USA and the Soviet Union. Despite looming conflict, people in Scotland mobilised in a variety of ways in reaction to this changing world. Thousands…
