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Natural Sciences department

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Our Natural Sciences collections cover both life sciences and earth sciences.
As a result of the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) we are unable to provide access to the collections, make outgoing research loans or accept any return loans. We shall update this website when we are once more able to respond to your requests. We thank you for your patience. Please contact Dr Nick Fraser (nick.fraser@nms.ac.uk) if you require any further assistance.


The Natural Sciences collections are comprehensive in their coverage of the natural world, although Botany is only represented by fossil plants. The collections are global in terms of their content and most of the several million specimens held originate from efforts to better understand the Natural World.

The collections are divided into four sections: Earth Systems, Invertebrates, Palaeobiology and Vertebrate Biology. If you have any requirements to examine any of our specimens you should contact the relevant Principal Curator in the first instance.

 

Keeper of Natural Sciences

Dr Nick Fraser  

Responsible for: the Natural Sciences department, its staff, collections and projects.
Email: nick.fraser@nms.ac.uk

Earth Systems

The Earth Systems collection of around 70,000 specimens represents Scotland’s geological history and global mineralogical diversity.
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Invertebrates

The Invertebrate collections date from the mid-1800s and include samples of many different groups of animals.
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Palaeobiology

The Palaeobiology collection covers all the major groups of fossil invertebrates, vertebrates, plants and trace fossils.
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Vertebrate Biology

The Vertebrate Biology collections comprise more than 200,000 specimens from around the world, including skins, skeletons, eggs, nests, wet specimens, tissue samples, fossils and archaeological remains.
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Natural Sciences news

Find out what's happening in our busy Natural Sciences department.
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Natural World galleries

A giant T.rex guards our Natural World galleries, where we ask the big questions: how does the world work? What do we know about it? What is our place in the universe?
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In this section

Earth Systems
Invertebrates
Palaeobiology
Vertebrate Biology
Natural Sciences news
Biobank

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Natural World galleries
Natural Sciences collections
Science engagement at National Museums Scotland
Contact us

Rachel Russell
Department Administrator

Tel. 0131 247 4228
r.russell@nms.ac.uk

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After nearly five months of closure, we have started to welcome visitors back to our museums with a phased reopening.

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