National Museum of Scotland
With thousands of amazing objects across dozens of galleries, the museum offers a world of discovery under one roof
Visitor information for National Museum of Scotland
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
- Exhibition
Scotland's First Warriors
–'Scotland's First Warriors' reveals the origins and impact of conflict in prehistoric Scotland.Free - Event
BSL Tour: Giants
Join tour guide, Babs Brown, for a Deaf-led tour of Giants. - Event
Museum Late: Festival Ceilidh
Friday 7 and Friday 14 August, 19:30 – 22:30Come ‘gie it laldy’ as our sell out Festival Ceilidh returns for two nights this August.
Stories from the collections
What is the Peebles Hoard?
Archaeology, Scotland
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…
A Viking Age boatyard on Eigg
Archaeology
Written by Dr Adrián MaldonadoTwo oak boat stems dating to 880-1050 AD from the isle of Eigg show the arrival of Scandinavian seafaring technology to Scotland.These rare survivals reveal how the Viking Age forever changed Scotland's seaways.Vikings and the seaWe tend…
'The world opened up to us’: Collecting American-Scottish Cold War experiences in Dunoon, Scotland
History and cultures, Scotland
Written by Dr Sarah Harper & Dr Mhairi MaxwellThe Cold War in Scotland forged new bonds between Scottish and American communities. As testimonies of veterans and Dunoon locals tell us, the conflict brought different cultures together and had a lasting impact on the town and its…
Scotland in the time of Giants
Natural world, Scotland
Written by Dr Sarah StewartFollowing the extinction of dinosaurs and other animals such as marine reptiles 66 million years ago, smaller surviving animals evolved, and some became giants.
