National Museums Scotland

Directions Website

National Museums Scotland Connecting Scotland to the world and the world to Scotland. This page is maintained by National Museums Scotland’s Digital Media and Press teams.
(10329)

We love getting messages and feedback through Facebook, however, please note we can only monitor our page during office hours, Monday to Friday, so will usually be unable to respond to messages or queries sent out of hours. We cannot guarantee to answer all your questions, but will always pass them on to the relevant people within National Museums Scotland. You can also contact us through our website: www.nms.ac.uk/contactus

14/10/2026

Our Roman Empire? The 'Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire' exhibition, opening in ONE MONTH ⚔️

Professor Mary Beard knows a thing or two about the Romans, and she's here to give us a little taste of what's in store 👀

Our exhibition will reveal what life was like for the locals under the Romans in Scotland, and how local people adapted in a changing Roman Britain.

All roads lead to... the National Museum of Scotland.

'Roman Scotland’ opens from Saturday 14 November. Head over to our website to book your tickets now: https://bit.ly/4yiiM92 🎟️

This is the energy that we’re manifesting for the tattie holidays 🥔In some areas, the October school holiday is still kn...
13/10/2026

This is the energy that we’re manifesting for the tattie holidays 🥔

In some areas, the October school holiday is still known as the 'tattie' holiday'. This was because the school holidays were organised around times of agricultural activity, such as the maincrop potato harvest around October time, so that school children could lend a hand.

Although this requirement for mass manual labour is now obsolete, the name still remains in some parts of Scotland.

And if you want to spend your tattie holidays enjoying scenes from Scotland’s rural past (is there any other way??) then why not go harvest some delicious examples from the Scottish Life Archive.

09/10/2026

Can we get a little commotion for the Victorian radiators? 💅

You can view these beauties for yourself! The National Museum of Scotland is free to enter and open everyday from 10am - 5pm ✨

08/10/2026

100 years young! 🎂🏗️

Originally built in 1926 and from Lincolnshire, England it was bought by an engineering company who built the A8 between Glasgow and the M8. One of the only preserved steam cranes in Scotland, it now resides at the National Museums Collection Centre as a mighty reminder of industrial history.

07/10/2026

It may not be the most aesthetic archaeological discovery, but the Blyth Hoard is pretty special ✨

Discovered near Blyth Bridge in 2022, this hoard is a collection of 3000-year-old Bronze Age objects ⁠⛏️

At first glance, the Blyth Hoard may look like a few bits of bronze, copper and degraded clay. But together, these objects offer a rare insight into metalworking in Bronze Age Scotland, and reveal how people were using trade and exchange networks.

Remarkably the Blyth Hoard has important links to the Peebles Hoard, which was found just 7 miles away from Blyth Bridge in 2020. And in a strange twist of fate, both hoards were discovered by the same finder!

There is still so much to uncover about these hoards. To find out more about the Blyth Hoard, head over to our website 👉 https://www.nms.ac.uk/discover-catalogue/the-blyth-hoard

06/10/2026

Enjoy a cow enjoying her lunch at the National Museum of Rural Life 🐮

01/10/2026

Meet magnificent Mary 🩷✨

Announcing our Summer 2027 exhibition - ‘Mary, Queen of Scots: Renaissance and Resistance’.

This exhibition will offer new perspectives of Mary, and ask why a group of powerful men would seek to paint her as an unstable adulteress.

It also showcases the vibrancy of 16th century Scotland. Some truly spectacular objects will be on display, including around 100 loans from across the UK and Europe.

Mary carefully managed her public image during nearly 19 years of imprisonment. 440 years after her death, her legacy lives on.

‘Mary, Queen of Scots: Renaissance and Resistance’ opens at the National Museum of Scotland on 12 June 2027.

Tickets on sale on Friday 2 October 2026 👀

As always, National Museums Scotland Members go free. Find out more on our website www.nms.ac.uk/mqs

30/09/2026

This little red book from the 18th century is written in Classical Gaelic 📕

An Leabhar Dearg -- or the Red Book of Clan Ranald -- is a compilation of poetry and history. It is written in the corra-litir, a script used for manuscripts in Irish and Scottish Gaelic cultures.

PhD student Euan MacLeod explains how the book is an extraordinary glimpse into Classical Gaelic literature.

See the Red Book of Clan Ranald on Level 1, Kingdom of the Scots, in the National Museum of Scotland 🏴

With thanks to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig for support.

---

Tha an leabhar beag seo bhon 18mh linn air an sgrìobhadh anns a’ Ghàidhlig Chlasaigich.
Tha an Leabhar Dearg na chruinneachadh de bhàrdachd agus de dh’eachdraidh. The e sgrìobhte sa chorra-litir, sgriopt a chaidh a chleachdadh airson làmh-sgrìobhainnean ann an cultaran Gàidhealach na h-Alba agus na h-Èireann.
Tha an t-oileanach PhD Eòghann MacLeòid a’ mìneachadh mar a tha an leabhar a’ toirt dhuinn shealladh annasach mu lìtreachas na Gàidhlig Clasaigiche.
Lorg an Leabhar Dearg air Làrach 1, Kingdom of the Scots, ann an Taigh-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba.

Le taing don Sabhal Mòr Ostaig airson an taic.

Our 127-year-old fly is making its digital debut 🪰Meet Blera fallax - a Pine hoverfly - and one of the first insects to ...
29/09/2026

Our 127-year-old fly is making its digital debut 🪰

Meet Blera fallax - a Pine hoverfly - and one of the first insects to be digitised as part of the DiSSCo UK project, jointly led in Scotland by National Museums Scotland and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Dating from 1899, this rare Pine hoverfly became critically endangered in Scotland and almost disappeared from the wild by the 2000s. The work to conserve this species was initiated by the Malloch Society and staff at National Museums Scotland, and is now an impressive collaborative conservation effort, changing the fate of this fly 🌲

Now this wee fly is helping us understand the environment she lived in over a century ago.

Digitising our natural sciences collections helps us explore how Scotland's species and ecosystems have changed over time. And as we mark Scotland's Climate Week, we’re buzzed to show you Blera fallax in all her digitised glory ⁠🌍

DiSSCo UK is funded through the UK Research and Innovation Infrastructure Fund and delivered by UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council - AHRC in partnership with the Natural History Museum, London.

25/09/2026

And there’s no place we’d rather be 😌

When was the last time you visited? The National Museum of Scotland is free to enter and open everyday from 10am - 5pm ✨

Address

Chambers Street
Edinburgh
EH11JF

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when National Museums Scotland posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category