Find out more about our travel trade services and
special exhibitions in 2013 here.
The new National Museum of Scotland has reopened after a
three-year, £47 million refurbishment. Explore the diversity of the
natural world, world cultures, art and design, science and
technology, and Scottish history, all in one stunning building in
the heart of Edinburgh’s historic Old town area.
The museum is now the UK’s largest museum outside London,
displaying 20,000 objects across 36 galleries, and it offers a host
of new and improved facilities for visitors. We have an extended
learning centre, a gallery for international touring exhibitions
and new shops and restaurants. Even getting around is easier with
new entrances, glass lifts and escalators, and a whole new floor at
street-level.
A visit to the revitalised National Museum of Scotland is an
unmissable experience: a journey which reveals the story of
Scotland and its place in the world through eye-catching displays
from our remarkable collections from science and art to nature and
outer space – all under one roof!
Find out more about the National Museum
of Scotland here.
Special exhibitions
With our new exhibition spaces now available, the museum is
planning some exciting exhibitions for 2012 and beyond,
including Fascinating Mummies and
Catherine the Great: An Enlightened
Empress.
Find out more about these and other
fascinating exhibitions taking place at the National Museum of
Scotland.
Tours of the Museum
Booked tours are available for the highlights of our galleries,
along with a range of themed tours. Please email tours@nms.ac.uk or call 0131 247 4041
for more information about prices and how to book. All tours are
subject to guide availability. Find out more about group tours
available here.
History
Since the doors opened to the public in 1866, the museum has
seen many changes in its architecture and identity.
Fowke’s vision took 30 years to complete and behind the Chambers
Street façade, the museum has always been altered, adapted and
extended in response to the growth in its collections and changing
public use.
In 1998, the Museum of Scotland, adjacent to the Royal Museum,
opened in a new modern building in Chambers Street, designed by
architects Benson & Forsyth, dedicated to the history and
culture of Scotland. In 2006, the Chambers Street site,
incorporating the Victorian Royal Museum building and the Museum of
Scotland, was re-named the National Museum of Scotland.
The National Museum of Scotland is one of the few places in the
world to house such significant and diverse collections in one
building. Many of the treasures in our new galleries have
never been on display before.
One of the highlights of the redevelopment is the newly
installed ‘Window on the World’. Measuring eighteen metres in
height, the spectacular display rises to the full four-storey
height of the Grand Gallery in the Victorian building and houses
nearly 1,000 items from the diverse national collections. One of
the largest single museum installations in the UK, the ‘Window on
the World’ displays items ranging in size and scope from a girder
from the Tay Bridge to a rock sample from the slopes of Mount
Vesuvius.
The museum reveals its collections in new and dynamic ways.
Hands-on-discovery areas, up-to-date learning experiences and
family focused activities make the National Museum of Scotland a
museum for the 21st century.
Our other museums
National Museums Scotland collections are so diverse that we
have five museums throughout Scotland. Discover the history behind
Scotland at war, aviation from the First World War to the present
day – including Scotland’s Concorde –
experience life on the farm and view a century of style.
All our museums offer group booking and special tours and
discounts. Click the links below for more information.