Natural Sciences
Welcome to the Natural Sciences department. We research, maintain and monitor National Museums Scotland's Natural Sciences collections.
Our collections and specimens are open to researchers for examination, and we'd be happy to help you conduct research. Please contact our staff to enquire.
Contact list of staff members
Natural Sciences department
Our collections
Our 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.
What we do
Our scientists undertake research in a number of areas ranging from phylogenetics, biometrics, biodiversity informatics, biodiversity monitoring, biogeography and taxonomy, to tectonic geomorpology, gemmology, topographical mineralogy, volcanology, palaeoecology, palaeoentomology and palaeoneurology.
Digitising natural science collections
National Museums Scotland is excited to be contributing to the development of the DiSSCo project. This is a major initiative spearheaded by the Natural History Museum to digitise and aggregate the natural sciences collections across the UK. Read more about the project.
Natural Sciences stories
- Discover
Abernethy Pearl: Scotland's largest freshwater pearl
In 1967, Bill Abernethy was pearl fishing near the River Tay when he came across his rarest and greatest discovery. At a weight of 43.6 grains, the Abernethy Pearl is the largest freshwater pearl found in Scotland in modern history. - Discover
Geology to Jewellery: The history and science of Cairngorm quartz
There is a whole fascinating world of Scottish minerals, reflecting the large variation in the country’s geology and physical landscape.The sheer variety is expressed beautifully by John Ruskin. In 1884 he described Scotland as ‘a country… - Discover
10 species spotted on the grounds of the National Museums Collection Centre
Across our sites, we're working to support the local biodiversity. Here’s a look at just a few of the species that can newly be found at the National Museums Collections centre.
