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Explore how we use our collections to understand the past, present and future of the climate emergency.
ViewLearn how to say colours in Mandarin, explore the museum collections, in person or virtually, and create your own Chinese object card.
ViewGet hands-on with craft ideas inspired by our collections.
ViewFrom intricate firelighting tools to rocket-powered aircraft and a fire alarm with a difference, our collections feature intriguing links to the element fire.
ViewNational Museums Scotland has been awarded a grant by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) with the National Maritime Museum, London to enable organisations around the UK to work with community groups to explore experiences of empire, migration, and life in Britain through their collections.
ViewA unique, full-length mummy shroud, which is over 2,000 years old yet is still in remarkable condition, has been discovered in National Museums Scotland’s collections.
ViewWe’ve teamed up with upcycling experts Ostrero and artist Bryony Knox to create a design for a cool owl badge – made form a fizzy drinks can! Try it out today.
ViewThese medieval chess pieces from the Scottish island of Lewis are among our most popular collections. They give us fascinating insights into the international connections of western Scotland and the growing popularity of chess in medieval Europe.
ViewThese four unique instruments were specially created for Performance and Lives gallery at the National Museum of Scotland by internationally renowned composer and artist Victor Gama.
ViewWhat do museum collections reveal about Britain’s and Scotland’s role in the Transatlantic slave system and the experiences of enslaved people?
ViewGet to know Scottish literary icon Robert Burns through remarkable objects in the collections of National Museums Scotland.
ViewCurator Fiona Ware and Dr Dan Harries from Heriot-Watt’s Institute of Life & Earth Sciences introduce some of Scotland’s finest marine habitats and discuss the importance of the museum’s specimen collections to monitoring changes in our seas.
ViewJoin us to learn how to sketch using our incredible collections as inspiration.
ViewAcclaimed historian and broadcaster Michael Wood joined Dr Adrián Maldonado, Glenmorangie Research Fellow, to discuss Adrián’s new book, 'Crucible of Nations: Scotland from Viking Age to Medieval Kingdom'. The book reassesses the museum’s Viking-age collections, uncovering an exciting new vision of Scotland’s diverse and creative past.
ViewBetween 29 November and 2 January we invited you to get creative and make art inspired by National Museums Scotland’s incredible collections and sites. There were 5 weekly themes to act as prompts for the challenge and get you thinking. As an extra twist, this year the themes were homophones– words that sound the same but have a different meaning, such as peace and piece. The Museum Art challenge was open to everyone - no experience necessary!
ViewA variety of objects relating to the life of Scotland's bard can be found in National Museums Scotland's collections.
ViewA new acquisition highlighting the way our collections continue to document the impact of rapid environmental change.
ViewOur collections represent Scottish material culture from the earliest times to the present day.
ViewNew to the National Collection showcased the latest additions to our collections, including objects that will feature in ten new galleries in 2016.
ViewTwo pieces of tusk in our collection show that some woolly mammoths made their home in Scotland, while another provides early evidence of mammoths in North America.
ViewThere are over 20,000 wood engraving blocks in the W. & R. Chambers Collection at National Museums Scotland. Over 7,000 of these blocks were created to print the illustrations in Chambers’s Encyclopaedia, which was first published in 1859.
ViewDiscover how objects in the museum’s collections can help us explore Scotland’s involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and the abolitionist movement.
ViewUse these seven yoga based poses to move, stretch and get energised, inspired by our collections. You can do each one on its own or all seven together in a 'yoga flow'.
ViewThis display highlights a small selection from our Scottish History & Archaeology collections, showing how research and collecting at National Museums Scotland is reshaping understandings of Scotland in the past, and reflecting the Scotland of today for future generations of museum visitors.
ViewA 166 million-year-old dinosaur bone identified as the first stegosaur bone to be found in Scotland has been added to our collections after a lucky discovery on the Isle of Eigg by Dr Elsa Panciroli.
ViewDiscover how brass and copper once featured as mediums of exchange, status and power in Africa through highlights of the museum’s 19th and early 20th century collections from west and central Africa.
ViewExplore stories, films, games and resources from the museums’ collections.
ViewDiscover the life of the National Bard through the collections of National Museums Scotland.
ViewProfessor Matthew Forster Heddle (1828-1897) was Scotland's most famous mineralogist. At National Museums Scotland, we look after 5,700 specimens from his collection.
ViewBetween 1925 and 1935 a fascinating collection of objects and glass lantern slides were donated to the Museum from Sri Lanka.
ViewMineral collecting was Matthew Heddle's main passion. Several of his minerals are on display in the National Museum of Scotland.
ViewAlthough rock collecting was not Heddle's main passion, he still took time to collect the occasional rock and even fossil specimens.
ViewHeddle was a larger than life character, a renowned academic and one of Scotland's most famous mineralogists.
ViewFull bibliography of the renowned mineralogist Professor Matthew Forster Heddle.
ViewIn 2018, the internationally renowned metalsmith Simone ten Hompel was commissioned by National Museums Scotland and The Glenmorangie Company to create a new artwork inspired by our curatorial research and the Museum’s collection of metal artefacts from early medieval Scotland.
ViewJourney through a brief history of the early bicycle and discover some of our modern cycling treasures.
ViewThe Roman army was drawn from many corners of the vast Roman Empire
ViewForts were not just military bases, they became the heart of communities
ViewSee five highlight objects that summarise the legacy of Rome's invasions of Scotland
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