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Train at Caledonian Station, Princes Street, Edinburgh, c.1900

Talks and lectures for adults

Try out our new Spotlight afternoon talks, evening lectures and music events at the National Museum of Scotland.

Spotlight On: Ancient Egypt in sixty minutes - FULLY BOOKED

Date: Thu 23 February
Time: 14:00–15:00
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

Fast-track through the highs and lows of 5,000 years of Egyptian history with Dr Angela McDonald, University of Glasgow. Places limited.

Evening Lecture: Fascinating Egypt

Date: Thu 8 March
Time: 18:30–19:30
Cost: £6, £5 Concession and Members
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

John Taylor, Assistant Keeper of Ancient Egypt at the British Museum, reflects on the history of archaeological exploration in Egypt, from 19th century travellers and scholars, including Alexander Rhind, to contemporary field work. 

Spotlight On: How to Live Forever in Ancient Egypt

Date: Thu 15 March
Time: 14:00–15:00
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

Dr Angela McDonald from the University of Glasgow explores prayers, spells and invocations in Ancient Egypt. Places limited.

Spotlight On: See Scotland by Train

Date: Thu 22 March
Time: 14:00–15:00
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

Our special exhibition takes you on a tour of Scotland through historic and modern railway posters. Join Alastair Dodds, our exhibition curator to find out more.

Mummies at the Movies: 'Beware the beat of the cloth-wrapped feet'

Date: Sat 24 March
Time: 13:30–16:45
Cost: £6, £5 Concession and Members
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

Egyptologist John J Johnston introduces the exotic and terrifying world of cinematic mummies.

Mystery Mummy Movie Screening

Date: Sat 24 March
Time: 14:45-16:45
Cost: Free
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

A free film screening of the winning movie from our Mummy Movie vote. Watch this space to find out how to vote.

Understanding Technology: The Secrecy and Counterculture of Holography

Date: Thu 29 March
Time: 15:00–17:00
Booking: Book now on 0300 123 6789

Join Dr Sean Johnston from Glasgow University to hear the hidden history of holography, the technology of three-dimensional imaging, and discover what links the Cold War, Pop Art and communes.

In association with the Institute for the Study of Science, Technology & Innovation at Edinburgh University.

Saturday Showcase: Behind the scenes with Fascinating Mummies

Date: Sat 31 March
Time: 13:30–16:00
Cost: £10, £8 Concession and Members
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

Explore the stories and secrets uncovered by our conservation team as they prepared our Egyptian collections for the Fascinating Mummies exhibition. Refreshments included.

Part of the adult programme for Edinburgh International Science Festival 2012.

Spotlight On: The Science of Archeaology

Date: Thu 5 April
Time: 14:00–15:00
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

Dr Angela McDonald from the University of Glasgow explores prayers, spells and invocations in Ancient Egypt. Places limited.

The Painted Gaze: Funerary Portraiture in Roman Egypt

Date: Sat 12 May
Time: 10:00–17:00
Cost: £36 (full fee only)
Booking: Book now on 0131 650 4400 or online at www.ed.ac.uk/openstudies. Course code B351.

The so-called ‘mummy portraits’ of Roman Egypt are enigmatic and open to a range of scholarly interpretations. Working with materials held by National Museums Scotland, tutor Andrew Paterson investigates the artistic interactions between Egypt and Rome, and the birth of portraiture.

Exploring Hieroglyphs

Date: Thu 17 May
Time: 18:00–19:00
Cost: Free
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

Dr Angela McDonald from University of Glasgow gives an introduction to Egyptian hieroglyphs in this special evening event to mark Adult Learners’ Week. Places limited.

Edinburgh Lecture: Who speaks for the dead? A forensic anthropologist’s tale

Date: Thu 24 May
Time: 19:00–20:00
Cost: £5 per ticket +£1 booking fee for online or telephone bookings (tbc)
Booking: Book through the Usher Hall Box Office at http://www.usherhall.co.uk/ or 0131 228 1155

Forensic anthropology is a science associated with identity. Professor Sue Black, from the University of Dundee’s Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, shows there are many aspects of identity from the human body that relate to the living as much as the dead. From identifying perpetrators of crime to helping victims remember who they are, the world of forensic anthropology is clearly a lot more than a pile of old bones.

Temples, Tombs and Fascinating Mummies

Date: Sat 26 May
Time: 10:00–17:00,
Cost: £20.00, £15.00 Concessions and EES members (includes refreshments and admission to Fascinating Mummies exhibition)
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

As the closing event for Fascinating Mummies, this day school focuses on the exhibition’s star attraction: the mummy of Ankh-hor, an early 26th Dynasty Priest of Montju at Karnak. Speakers include Dr Aidan Dodson, Bristol University and Chris Naunton Deputy Director of the Egypt Exploration Society.

In partnership with the Egypt Exploration Society.

Saturday Showcase: Railway Posters, Past and Present

Date: Sat 16 June
Time: 13:30–16:00
Cost: £10, £8 Concession and Members
Booking: Book tickets online or call 0300 123 6789

Railway posters offer their own distinctive view of the changing world of travel over the last 150 years. Ed Bartholomew, Senior Curator of Image and Sound Collections at the National Railway Museum, explores the history of the railway poster, and David Bownes, Head of Collections, and Mike Walton, Retail Director at London Transport Museum, share stories about London Transport posters past and present, including contemporary commissioning and the Underground 150 Project. Refreshments included.

University of Edinburgh Open Studies

University of Edinburgh logoFrom late September we are hosting a new programme of daytime and evening adult courses and Saturday schools in conjunction with Open Studies at the University of Edinburgh's Office of Lifelong Learning. With options ranging from archaeology to Scottish textiles, there's something for everyone. Find out more here.

Our Fascinating Mummies events are supported by Allander Print Ltd.

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  • Fascinating Mummies
  • See Scotland by Train
Coffins of Amenhotep. © Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Leiden, the Netherlands).

Coffins of Amenhotep, on display in the Fascinating Mummies Exhibition.

Poster © NRM Pictorial Collection / Science & Society Picture Library

Rail poster on display in the See Scotland by Train exhibition. Portrait-mummy of an unidentified Man

Mummy of an adult male with a portrait-board over the face from Ancient Egypt.

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National Museums Scotland, Scottish Charity, No. SC 011130