National Museum of Scotland

To ensure your visit runs smoothly, all school visits to the National Museum of Scotland must be booked in advance. 

Workshop and tour prices

£110 UK schools

20% of our schools workshops are available free of charge to schools in SIMD 1 and 2 areas (where at least 60% of pupils are also classed as SIMD 1 and 2) and all special/ASL schools (Scotland only).  This offer is subject to availability.

Self-led visits

Self-led school visits and downloadable resources are free of charge.

Overseas and language school group visits

Overseas and language school group visits are self-led and free of charge. 

The cost of your visit is detailed in your information pack.

State Schools should provide the Museum with a Purchase Order number in advance of chargeable visits. After the visit, we will invoice your Local Authority. Payment is due within 15 days of the invoice date.

Non-payment of invoices may lead to cancellations of any future bookings made by your school.

National Museums Scotland does not currently offer travel subsidies. Children and young people aged between 5 and 21 years living in Scotland are eligible for free bus travel. Find out more about free bus travel. 

We understand that you may need to cancel or change your booking. Please contact us as soon as possible to let us know of any changes: 

• Facilitated sessions: schools@nms.ac.uk.

Prepare your class for a visit by using our visual story PowerPoints in class:

• Visual Story self-guided visit
• Visual Story workshop visit
• Visual Story in Ukrainian

You can also find out more about the ASN resources available for your visit.

• ASN Resources 

We have a video which shows a school visit to National Museum of Scotland. We suggest you also read the Plan Your Visit page for more information. You can also book a pre-visit to help you plan the day.

We have a range of resources available to use in both the classroom and museum. You can find them in the Learning resources section.

We also have topic specific trails to help guide your class through the museum which you can download in advance. 

All visit types should arrive at the time stated on their booking.

Workshop sessions

If you are running late, please call our front of house team on 0131 247 4401/4402 so we know when to expect you.

The coach drop off point is outside the main entrance to the Museum (Chambers St. EH1 1JF). 

Pay and display parking is available on Chambers St. and at NCP Quartermile. Find more parking information on the NCP website. 

Unless otherwise advised, all educational groups should enter the Museum via the main street level entrance on Chambers Street. This entrance is suitable for wheelchair access. Your timeslot for entry will be indicated in your booking confirmation. 

The entrance hall can be very noisy. Help us keep noise to an acceptable level by: 

• Keeping your group together
• Using ‘quiet voices’
• Moving away from the area as soon as you can.

Groups arriving before 11 am will be met by a Learning Communicator (dressed in black tshirt/hoodie) on arrival. Groups arriving for facilitated sessions after 11 am should make their way to the school meeting point in the Grand Gallery (by the Millennium Clock/escalator). 

The galleries are fully accessible via lifts. 

You can find useful information about accessibility at the museum, including a sensory map, on our accessibility page. 

UK school groups

• Booked groups are allocated a storage tub in our school’s cloakroom for coats, and packed lunches (subject to availability). Please encourage pupils to bring with them only what they will need for the day.
• Cloakroom tub numbers can be found on the list located at the entrance to the lunch space
• The tubs have lids, but are not lockable. Please note that the tubs are not located in a secure area. Belongings are left at the owner’s risk.
• Space is limited and we are unable to store large rucksacks or suitcases
• Please note that bags can only be stored in the cloakroom while you are on the premises. 

Overseas and language school groups

Self-service lockers are located in the Entrance Hall on Level 0. The lockers come in three sizes which accommodate coats and small bags right up to small flight cases. 

The dimensions (height x width x depth) of the lockers are: 

• Small: 35 x 30 x 43cm
• Medium: 44 x 33 x 41cm
• Large: 58 x 44 x 66cm.

You will need a smart phone and mobile payment or credit card to access the lockers. If you’d rather pay cash just visit our shop to purchase a voucher. Charges for all day storage start from £3 and all profits made go towards the work of National Museums Scotland.

UK school groups

School groups can eat in the Museum lunchroom. The lunchroom is the only designated space for school group lunches in the Museum and must be pre-booked.

Please note that the lunchroom is a nut-free zone. 

Please note that use of the lunchroom is subject to availability and priority use is given to groups who have booked facilitated sessions. 

If available, your 30-minute lunch slot is included in your booking information.

The packed lunch space will be very busy during your visit. Please help us to keep it running smoothly by sticking to your booked 30-minute time slot(s), sharing tables with other schools, and tidying up after your group.

Overseas and language school groups

Eating and drinking packed lunches is restricted to the Museum lunchroom located opposite the Information Desk in the museum entrance hall. The space is subject to availability and must be pre-booked. 

Please contact schools@nms.ac.uk to check availability.

There are also several cafes in the museum to choose from. 

There are museum maps in several languages to help plan your route around the Museum. 

All of our toilets are open to the general public. If you do not bring both male and female adult supervision, please be aware of this when using these facilities. 

Accessible toilets are available on each level. A Changing Places (U) toilet is located in the Entrance Hall on Level 0. 

There is a Museum Shop in the Entrance Hall, Level 0.

Please bring groups of no more than 10 at a time to reduce crowding.

The shop stocks ‘pocket money' items, found on the right-hand side as you enter.

We are happy for you to take photographs, including flash photography, in the general museum. Photography is not permitted in special exhibitions, unless otherwise stated. If you wish to take a photo of a member of museum staff, please ask their permission before doing so.  

Please note that anyone wishing to use additional photography equipment (e.g. a tripod) should contact the information desk to obtain a photo pass. 

We may also wish to take photographs of you and your group. We will always discuss with you in advance and will supply a photography permission form for you and your class to be completed prior to visiting. 

During/after your visit we will invite you and your group to complete evaluation surveys. Your responses are extremely valuable and will help us to improve the service we provide.