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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

04/09/2026

An excellent choice, if you ask us 👀

The Towie ball, which was found in Aberdeenshire, is a beautiful carved stone ball dating back over 5,000 years. And it’s just one of the ✨many✨ fascinating objects to admire at the National Museum of Scotland. We’re free to enter and open every day from 10am - 5pm.

Come and see it for yourself in the Early People gallery, and unlock your inner history lover!

03/09/2026

Dr Sarah Stewart returns to answer some of your questions about giants! 🦈

How do we know that woolly mammoths were woolly? Which giants used to roam Scotland? Dr Stewart will reveal all!

Our 'Giants' exhibition showcases the colossal prehistoric creatures that lived after the extinction of the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago. Discover life-sized 3D sculptures, skeletons, and fossils in this immersive, family friendly exhibition.

'Giants’ is on at the National Museum of Scotland until 14 September 2026.

01/09/2026

Enjoy 60 seconds of our rare Bronze Age scabbard having a glow up 🖌️ 😌

The scabbard was made from strips of hazel wood and had a bronze chape (a fitting for the end of the scabbard). It was found within the Carnoustie Hoard - which was carefully wrapped and buried around 3000 years ago.

And, if you like glimpses of Scottish archaeology then GREAT NEWS: September is Scottish Archaeology Month (Archaeology Scotland). It’s the biggest annual celebration of Scottish heritage, history and archaeology. Which is right up our street tbh.

And even better news: the scabbard is now ready for its close up!

You can see it on display in Scotland’s First Warriors at the National Museum of Scotland, from now until 16 May 2027.

Forget the Cat in the Hat 🎩Cleanse your timeline with this image of the Edinburgh and East of Scotland Cat Club, taken i...
31/08/2026

Forget the Cat in the Hat 🎩

Cleanse your timeline with this image of the Edinburgh and East of Scotland Cat Club, taken in 1959.

Just one of the many, many cats immortalised in the Scottish Life Archive, which you can browse online and enjoy 24/7.

28/08/2026

This drawer contains bone and antler objects that were found in Bronze Age graves or Neolithic cairns 🦴

At the National Museums Collection Centre we research and look after parts of the collection that aren’t on public display.

Inside this drawer in Scottish History and Archaeology, there are small and personal items like bone pins, bone hammers and bone beads buried with people. But it’s the early Bronze Age horn ladle that Dr Matt Knight likes best 🥄

27/08/2026

Game playing was an emblem of success and sophistication in the Medieval and Early Modern Gàidhealtachd ♟️

In Gaelic praise poetry, board games were one of the marks of a great leader.

The Pìosan-tàileisg Leòdhais – or Lewis chess pieces – are finely made of walrus ivory and s***m whale teeth, and are thought to have been crafted in Norway in the late 12th or early 13th century.

PhD student Euan Macleod shares how the varied accounts of the chess pieces survive in Gaelic oral tradition and shape their legend.

These chess pieces are on display in the Kingdom of the Scots gallery, on Level 1, in the National Museum of Scotland. There are also Lewis chess pieces on display in the Museum & Tasglann nan Eilean and British Museum 🏴

With thanks to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig for support.

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Air a’ Ghàidhealtachd sna Meadhan Aoisean agus san Nuadh-linn Thràth, b’ e samhla soirbheachas agus grinneas a bh’ ann an geamannan ♟️

Ann am bàrdachd molaidh, bha geamannan bùird nan comharra de cheannard cumhachdach.

Tha Pìosan-tàileisg Leòdhais air an dèanamh à ìbhri ualrais agus fiaclan muice-mara spùtaich, is thathar den bheachd gun deach an cruthachadh ann an Nirribhidh anmoch san 12na linn no tràth san 13mh linn.

Tha an t-oileanach PhD Eòghann MacLeòid ag innse mar a tha diofar aithrisean mu na pìosan-tàileisg a’ mairsinn ann an dualchas-beòil nan Gàidheal.

Tha na pìosan-tàileisg seo rim faicinn ann an gailearaidh Kingdom of the Scots, air Làrach 1 ann an Taigh-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba. Tha Pìosan-tàileisg Leòdhais cuideachd rin lorg ann am Museum nan Eilean agus aig British Museum.

Le taing don Sabhal Mòr Ostaig airson an taic.

25/08/2026

Pups on a plane ✈️

We recently welcomed some guide dog puppies from Guide Dogs Scotland at the National Museum of Flight as part of their early training.

Pups Bill, Elba, Kell, Kez, Marty, Vinny and Wray had a first-class experience, climbing aboard Scotland’s only Concorde, as well as exploring the different hangars, aircraft collection and airfield.

Outings like this are an important part of a guide dog puppy’s socialisation.

These experiences help the pups develop their confidence in unfamiliar and busy environments. For example, the aircraft steps provide a great opportunity for the pups to practice their boarding and disem-barking! 🐾

20/08/2026

'One of my favourite things in the whole museum ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐' - Eleanor Morton

Despite its name, the Millennium Clock is not a Y2K glow-in-the-dark clock. It is a 10-metre-high kinetic sculpture telling the story of the 20th century through music and movement.

The Clock strikes on the hour, every hour from 11am to 4pm daily at the National Museum of Scotland 🕰️

It invites us to pause, reflect and make our own sense of the spectacle. Come and see it for yourself, and let us know what you make of it! ✨

19/08/2026

DIY, but make it an aircraft ✈️

Built by John Sharp in his own home, the Druine Turbulent aircraft is the definition of taking a hobby to new heights.

A Royal Navy petty officer with plenty of technical skill, John built this aircraft with his son, piece by piece, in their home. The wings alone took up so much room that the family had to crawl under them to go to bed while it was under construction!

Made from plywood and powered by a Volkswagen car engine, this aircraft is a remarkable example of ingenuity ✨

Come and see this incredible home-built aircraft for yourself at the National Museum of Flight. Head to our website to plan your visit: https://bit.ly/3Tw7NKe 🛩️

17/08/2026

It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it 💅

The Inchkeith lighthouse optic is a first order revolving lens, designed by David A. Stevenson and made by Chance Brothers, Smethwick in 1889.

You too can hold it down at the National Museum of Scotland with this stunning lens! We’re free to enter and open every day from 10am - 5pm 💡

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