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. A child lying on the floor of a large museum gallery next to a long wooden bowl. The child is drawing a picture.
    Event

    Drawn Together at the Museum 

    Fri 27 Dec - Sun 30 Dec 2024, 11:00 - 15:00
    Our popular festive art event returns this December. Join us between Christmas and Hogmanay for calming sketching around the museum.
    Free

    National Museum of Scotland

    Find out more
  3. Performers dressed as superheroes singing on a stage to an audience of families and young children.
    Event

    Sprogmanay

    Wed 1 Jan 2025, 14:00 - 17:00 (Museum open from 12:00)
    Join us for an afternoon of fun for children of all ages with a programme of live music, dancing, and performances.
    Free

    National Museum of Scotland

    Find out more
See what else is on

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. Colourful painted ceiling panel depicting King David playing his harp
    Discover

    Early Modern Scottish belief in 10 objects

    These 9 key objects help paint a picture of belief and devotional practice in Scotland. By showing how people used and interacted with these objects, we get a glimpse into the everyday experience of faith in early modern Scotland.  In late…
    Keep reading
  3. 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
  4. 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
View more stories

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