A multi-level open museum space with balconies and an arched ceiling. There are lots of visitors looking at objects on display.

National Museum of Scotland

With thousands of amazing objects across multiple galleries, the Museum offers you a world of discovery all under one roof

Visitor information for National Museum of Scotland

Admission details:

Free entry

Contact:

Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF

Tel: 0300 123 6789

Opening hours:

Open daily, 10:00 – 17:00

Closed 25 Dec. Open 26 Dec, 12:00 – 17:00. Open 1 Jan, 12:00 – 17:00.

What's on

  1. A person is looking at a framed picture. The picture looks like a square block of pink from a distance, but on closer inspection it's a stream of code for a virus.
    Exhibition

    Injecting Hope: The race for a COVID-19 vaccine

    –
    Injecting Hope is a free exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, that presents the science behind the COVID-19 vaccine.
    Coming soon

    National Museum of Scotland

    More info
  2. Child looks towards the right through a brass telescope.
    Event

    Curiosity Club

    Sat 14 Sep – Sat 29 Mar 2025, 10:30 - 12:00
    Our popular Curiosity Club sessions return this season, for inquisitive kids aged 7–11.
    Updated

    National Museum of Scotland

    Find out more
  3. A child and adult looking at a geological specimen.
    Event

    Relaxed Curiosity Club

    Sat 14 Sep – Sat 29 Mar, 14:30 - 15:30
    Unleash your inner museum detective and explore our collections through games, activities and an optional gallery visit.
    Updated

    National Museum of Scotland

    Find out more
See what else is on
Three adults turning pedals as part of an interactive display in a multi-storey museum gallery.

See and do

With thousands of amazing objects across multiple galleries, the Museum offers you a world of discovery all under one roof.
Find out more

Families

All you need to know for a great family visit at the museum.
Find out more

Stories from the collections

  1. Twelve bronze objects, including some rounded fittings with concentric circle designs and a rattle pendant.
    Discover

    What is the Peebles Hoard?

    The Peebles Hoard is a spectacular collection of bronze, leather and wooden material. Dating to the Late Bronze Age (c.1000-800 BCE), it contains several hundred elements from a complex set of objects. A complete sword in a wooden scabbard…
    Keep reading
  2. A cream telephone, with a receiver on one side and a keyboard on the other. A small screen sits above the keyboard.
    Discover

    10 stories of disability history in the collections

    Disability History Month begins in November each year. But all year round we care for and interpret objects connected to the lives and experiences of D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people, past and present. This list highlights…
    Keep reading
  3. Set of miniature wooden coffins with wooden dolls inside.
    Discover

    An unsolved mystery: the coffins found on Arthur's Seat

    Satanic spell, superstitious charm or echo of Edinburgh’s grisly underworld history? We examine the strange tale of these tiny coffins, discovered on Arthur’s Seat almost 200 years ago.
    Keep reading
  4. A watercolour painting of a rural scene, where a group of people are sat enjoying refreshments in a field, with harvested bales tied up with string all around them.
    Discover

    The Autumn harvest in 8 rural snapshots

    Seasons of the year have always shaped how communities and people live. Farming and rural life was driven by the changing of the seasons. While the technology employed to do the work has changed, the tasks done in each season have largely…
    Keep reading
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Awards