The Wee Museum of Memory

The Wee Museum of Memory The Wee Museum is packed full of objects from days gone by which you can pick up to spark memories The Wee Museum of Memory is free to enter.
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At our two reminiscence centre museums you can come in and do some impromptu reminiscing. There is usually one of our team available for a blether. Feel free to pick up objects and look at our nostalgic photographs. Primary school children, handling the wide variety of objects on display, ask what some of them could possibly be used for. Brought up with light-touch computer keyboards, they exclaim

at how hard they have to press the keys of the old typewriters to make an impression. Dialling a number on the old telephone “takes ages” to a generation raised on push buttons and speed dialling. They find it hard to believe that teachers were actually allowed to thrash children of a bygone era with the leather tawse. Some things don’t change, though and they can quickly get the knack of keeping a yo-yo in motion or clicking the lever of a View-master to look at a succession of pictures of Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat etc. Older people nostalgically handle the Box Brownies, recalling posing for family snaps or turn the handle of the Singer sewing machine, remembering their mum making their party frock. Sometimes music floats through the room as somebody picks out a tune on the piano or shoulders an accordion to recreate a Jimmy Shand moment. The smell of a National Dried Milk tin or a pretty little bottle of Evening in Paris or even a chunky bar of Carbolic soap from the ledge of the scrubbing board can be powerfully evocative. A lot of the household gadgets and old woodwork tools bring memories flooding back and visitors from as near as Leith and as far away as Australia find common ground as they reminisce and tell their stories to each other.

Join The Forget Me Notes Project Choir and MAS for an afternoon of on 28th September from 130pm at Ocean Terminal Sh...
01/09/2026

Join The Forget Me Notes Project Choir and MAS for an afternoon of on 28th September from 130pm at Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre

01/09/2026

Tomorrow (Wednesday) from 1200 in our Wee Hub at Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre

Join The Scottish Labour History Society for a speaker-led discussion celebrating the life of Jim Charleson, featured in...
01/09/2026

Join The Scottish Labour History Society for a speaker-led discussion celebrating the life of Jim Charleson, featured in the exhibition at Wee Museum 2 in Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre before it closes soon.

On 19th September, from 13:00 to 15:00, Rab Jeffery, Helen Jeffery, and Henry Dee will introduce you to a remarkable socialist who fought for his ideals in the early twentieth century, from Leith to World Revolution

01/09/2026

Wee Museum visitor drifts back in time with some more wonderful memories of life in in the

01/09/2026
01/09/2026

Leith Local History Society programme for 2026/27

01/09/2026

A view over the river to the rear of Ballantyne Road. “This area was a marvelous community where everyone knew each other, ideal play area, safe from traffic and frequently used for concerts in the war years.’ (Frank Ferrie reminiscence). Also very handy for the State Cinema! This area is now The Quilts following its redevelopment.

01/09/2026

Join us on Thursday at 11am in The Wee Museum of Memory. All welcome!

01/09/2026

Wee Museum regular Drew takes us back to the early in when he was looking to change job under dramatic circumstances

Address

The Wee Museum Of Memory, Ocean Terminal, Ocean Drive
Edinburgh
EH66JJ

Opening Hours

Monday 10:30am - 4pm
Tuesday 10:30am - 4pm
Wednesday 10:30am - 4pm
Thursday 10:30am - 4pm
Friday 10:30am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 11am - 4pm

Telephone

+447714783726

Website

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