Search our collections

Skip Navigation or Skip to Content

Visit Us Dropdown trigger
Back
National Museum of Scotland

Chambers Street, EH1 1JF

Museum open
Open daily, 10:00 - 17:00
Free entry

Find out more

National Museum of Flight

East Fortune Airfield, EH39 5LF

Museum Open
Winter opening hours Nov - Mar
Weekends only, Sat & Sun: 10:00 - 16:00, last entry 15:00
Summer opening hours from Fri 29 March
Paid entry, Members free

Find out more

National Museum of Rural Life

Philipshill Road, G76 9HR

Museum open
Open daily, 10:00 - 17:00
Paid entry, Members free

Find out more

National War Museum

Edinburgh Castle, EH1 2NG

Museum open
Open daily, 09:45 - 17:45
Entry to the museum is free

Find out more
National Museum of Scotland

Back

Plan your visit

Things to see and do

Exhibitions & Events

Visiting FAQs
National Museum of Flight

Back

Plan your visit

Things to see and do

Exhibitions & Events

Book tickets

Visiting FAQs
National Museum of Rural Life

Back

Plan your visit

Things to see and do

Exhibitions & Events

Book tickets

Visiting FAQs
National War Museum

Back

Plan your visit

Things to see and do

Exhibitions & Events
Exhibitions & Events Dropdown trigger
Exhibitions & Events

Back

All exhibitions & events

Free events

What's on today

Catch up online

Past exhibitions
A moment of eye contact with a leopard as it curls its tail, while striding over water.

Exhibition National Museum of Scotland Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious photography event of its kind, providing a global platform that showcases some of the best photography talent from around the world for nearly 60 years.
Find out more

A man from Oceania dramatically poses on a beach covered in a shallow layer of water and seaweed. Throwing his head back and striking a 'warrior pose', his long braided hair, traditional dyed cloth wrapping below his waist, and the boat paddle he holds make him seem powerful and heroic.

Exhibition National Museum of Scotland Rising Tide
A new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland showcasing artworks created in response to the climate crisis in Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Find out more
Collections Dropdown trigger
Collections

Back

Stories and resources

Search our collections

Research

Collections departments

National Museums Collection Centre
Various museum objects

Explore stories, films and resources
Discover more about our amazing objects through stories, films and resources.
Find out more

Fan in European Styles

Search the collections database
Our online database contains a selection of the 12 million objects and specimens in our collections.
Find out more
About Us Dropdown trigger
About Us

Back

Our organisation

Our work

Our services

Policies and reports

Jobs and volunteering

Schools

Contact us
View of the underside of the Concorde inside an aircraft hangar

Our organisation
Find out more about how we operate, and explore our history, leadership team and current strategy.
Find out more

Schools
Bring the Curriculum for Excellence to life with the help of the national collections.
Find out more
Join & Donate Dropdown trigger
Join & Donate

Back

Membership

Make a donation

Leave a gift in your will

Become a Patron

Donate an object

Corporate support

The American Foundation
Woman and man smiling in a gallery with glass cases out of focus..

Become a Member
Help protect remarkable objects and be the first to hear about the stories they hold.
Find out more

A group of carved Lewis chess pieces

Make a donation
We rely on your donations to protect the objects in our care.
Find out more

Search our website

Key in a search term below to search our website.

Advanced search

Advanced Search Search terms must be longer than two characters. Use a * as a wildcard to widen your search (for example, bagpipe* will find bagpipe, bagpipes and bagpiper).

1 results found

Change view:
Grid view
List view

Nicol prism

Nicol prism, analysing prism made of two pieces of Iceland spar (trigonal crystal calcite) cemented together with Canada balsam, the prism makes use of the double refracting qualities of Iceland spar to form an optical filter for polarising light, by William Nicol, Edinburgh, Scotland, circa 1850

Keyword search

Advanced search Search terms must be longer than two characters. Use a * as a wildcard to widen your search (for example, bagpipe* will find bagpipe, bagpipes and bagpiper).