Preparing for the Art of Glass exhibition at National Museum of Scotland.

Collections in Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders

As part of the celebrations for the opening of ten new galleries at the National Museum of Scotland, the Young Demonstrators worked with artist Henry Cruickshank to create a comic strip starring our very own super sheep, Dolly.

This collaborative research partnership with the National Army Museum reappraises motivations for military collecting. It investigates cultures of collecting by members of the British armed forces while on campaign and garrison duty in Africa and India during the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Explore the highlights of the museum and our working farm with this new family trail.

The wide availability of cotton textiles from the eighteenth century onwards transformed popular dress. The demand for printed cottons also had a significant impact on the growth of the Scottish textile industry in general, and the Turkey red manufacturers in particular.

Associate with excellence and gain real business benefits through a partnership with National Museums Scotland.

Every year National Museums Scotland lends collection objects to organisations across the world. This map shows some of the locations our objects have travelled to in the past few years.

This section contains information about the way in which National Museums Scotland is run: our vision, mission and values; our Executive Team and Trustees; and our commitment to providing the best possible service.

A spotlight tour from National Museums Scotland and the British Museum.

HomeWorks is a project inspired by art and design collections at the National Museum of Scotland. Led by artists Katie and Sophie Orton and Ali Glanville-Jones, the workshops aim to inspire creativity, connect people to our new Art, Design and Fashion galleries, and encourage an understanding of design processes.

As a work placement student you will share our passionate belief in National Museums Scotland's mission to preserve, interpret and make accessible for all the past and present of Scotland, of other nations and cultures, and of the natural world.

For more details about venue hire, please contact a member of our Hospitality and Events team.

The first important professional woman artist of modern Scotland, Phoebe Anna Traquair was a leading figure within the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement.

Each object in our collection has a story to tell. Your gift, no matter how small or large, will ensure they are told for generations to come.

Meet Cybraphon, the moody autonomous robot band in a box created by Edinburgh-based artist collective FOUND.

During and directly after the Second World War, the Reid family at Wester Kittochside, East Kilbride employed both Italian and German prisoners of war.

Oracle bones are parts of animal bone, used in divination ceremonies in ancient China. National Museums Scotland’s collection of oracle bones dates from the late Shang dynasty (c.1200–1050 BC) and was found at Yinxu site near Anyang city, in central China.

This articulated silver necklace encapsulating a large labradorite disc is one of Dorothy Hogg’s earliest works (1969-70).

Within our collections departments, our staff hold a wealth of knowledge and can provide expert advice on collections, their identification, care and management.

Discover the story of Scottish pop music at the National Museum of Scotland as we take you on a musical journey from the 1950s to the present day.

Join curator Margaret Maitland for a guided virtual tour of our Ancient Egypt Rediscovered gallery.

The Board of Trustees is National Museums Scotland’s governing body, responsible for setting the National Museums Scotland’s vision, strategy and policy and for monitoring progress to achieve these.

A huge range of different elements are used to make up the components of a mobile phone. But did you know that many of them can be found in minerals you can see on display at the National Museum of Scotland?

The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. A stunning pair of Hawk wings with the iconic RAF Red Arrows livery are on display in the new Explore gallery at the National Museum of Scotland.

The Hospitality and Events team have over 40 years' combined experience delivering spectacular events across National Museums Scotland’s unique and versatile sites.

Use 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'.

Thinking of donating an item to the collection? Find out more here.

In 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.

During 2013, our Scotland Creates volunteers at National Museum of Scotland worked with curators from our Science and Technology department to investigate objects on display in our galleries. This film, one of three made with animator Cameron Duguid, was written and directed by our volunteers and displays their unique perspective on James Clerk Maxwell's dynamic top.

This revolutionary pneumatic tyre was donated to the museum by its maker, John Boyd Dunlop, in 1910. But who really invented it?

National Museums Scotland is establishing an international network of scholars to explore the role of silver in the emergence of the early medieval kingdoms of Europe. This network has been made possible thanks to an award from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Find out more about our review of Pacific material.

A touring exhibition examining Scotland’s contribution to Egyptology through the lives of three remarkable people.

Discover the facts about a large ocean sunfish that stranded off Scotland’s coast in 2020 and hear what we can learn from studying this strange fish.

Collections in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray.

With the opening in February 2019 of three new galleries at the National Museum of Scotland, we celebrated the completion of the transformation of our much-loved Victorian building.

Find out more about the AHRC project and its precursors.

Explore the highlights of the historic airfield with this new family trail.

The Scottish Life Archive is open to everyone. It aims to collect, record and preserve documentary and illustrative evidence of Scotland's material culture and social history.

A 10th-century hoard found on the Isle of Skye contained 19 dirhams, silver coins from the Islamic emirates of central Asia. These were not exotic curiosities collected by a Viking traveller, but evidence of trade routes connecting Scotland across vast distances at the turn of the first millennium.

St Andrew is Scotland's patron saint and his Saltire (X-shaped) cross is Scotland's flag. Discover more about how he has been represented through the centuries.

National Museums Scotland offers a range of research facilities.

We have a long history of collaborating with museum institutions in India.

Meet the Young Demonstrators, the National Museum of Scotland’s youth team.

National Museums Scotland completes a range of diverse and engaging community programmes each year. These examples highlight some of the key activities that have taken place in recent years.

1914 brought war to Scotland on what would prove to be an unprecedented scale. Delve into the stories behind those who fought in the First World War here.

Discover the story of the people who designed, built and operated Scotland's lighthouses through the objects which brought their role to life.