Exciting, hands-on sessions for curious ASN families.

Join Doug Allan as he shares personal insights from his 40-year career at the frontiers of climate breakdown as a photographer, filmmaker, diver and author.

Join us as we kick off the 2024 Edinburgh International Children’s Festival with a day of free pop-up performances and activities for the whole family.

Join author and mindfulness teacher Natasha Iregbu as she invites families to practice mindfulness in a fun and enjoyable way.

Join us for a relaxed Magic Carpet session as we explore the museum through interactive songs, rhymes and sensory play.

Join us for an evening of bright and vivid music from the Scottish Ensemble in the light-filled setting of the Grand Gallery.

Fertility figure or Iron Age goddess of the straits? This carved sculpture of a female dates from around 600 BC, but its origins remain unknown.

This beautiful medieval bishop’s crook and silver-gilt case, or Coigreach, are associated with St Fillan of Perthshire, and are among our most important medieval church artefacts.

スコットランド国立博物館来館案内

Discover how Victorian inventors and entrepreneurs succeeded in capturing the very first images.

Discover more about the Circular Economy through the Making Circles schools project, led by Ostrero.

This unique decorated Iron Age cap would have adorned a highly prized pony.

In 1975, a Bronze Age burial was found in Inverness-shire. Interpreted as an archer, this man and his objects reveal fascinating stories about connections across Britain and Ireland.

The Meissen lion is part of the animal menagerie commissioned by Augustus II the Strong in the early 18th century.

Our West, South and Southeast Asian collections contain more than 17,000 objects, giving insight into the lives of past and present people across a vast geographical area.

Explore Wildlife Photographer of the Year with an audio-described tour for those who are blind, partially sighted or visually impaired.

Indian dance traditions bringing back childhood memories

Surasundari and the stone-carving tradition in India

Huge chains strike the eye with a comic book grandeur. Yet this is no comic or Pop Art painting but an Archie Brennan tapestry from 1977 entitled Chains.

Préparez votre visite du Musée national d'Écosse.

Napier’s ‘bones’ or ‘rods’ are just one of the methods invented by the Edinburgh-born Renaissance scholar John Napier to speed up calculations.

Our Ancient Mediterranean archaeological collections consist of over 12,000 objects from across northern Africa, southern Europe, and western Asia.

How South Asian art and design captured Victorian Britain's imagination

Yama and the sinner's punishment in Death's palace

This strange-looking device was the first model of telephone to go on sale. But can its creator, Alexander Graham Bell, truly lay claim to the title ‘inventor of the telephone’?

Natural Sciences staff have been participating in this year's Scottish Geology Festival.

Rarer than the tiger, the Scottish wildcat is Britain's last native cat species. Find out more about this elusive feline and the efforts being made to ensure it has a future.

This splendid reconstruction brings to life an Iron Age chariot discovered at Newbridge, near Edinburgh Airport. Chariot burials were very exclusive, and this is the oldest in Britain.

Lulu came from the only killer whale pod in the UK and was found dead on Tiree in 2016. She had the highest levels of polychlorinated biphenyls ever recorded from a marine mammal.

Flora MacDonald famously helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape. This snuffbox, an heirloom of her clan, links the romantic pair.

As microscopes became increasingly popular, so did companies that specialized in slide preparation.

A unique jar of rock crystal and gold from the Galloway Hoard with a fascinating history – and an intriguing name on it.

Hung in Europe’s most noble households, this luxurious tapestry belongs to a Flemish set known as The Triumph of the Seven Virtues. It was woven in Brussels during the early 16th century.

James VI and I was a hugely significant Stewart king, but has been overshadowed by his notorious relations: his predecessor in Scotland, his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots; in England, his cousin, Elizabeth I; and his successor in both kingdoms, Charles I.

In August 1839, Lord Eglinton held a mock-medieval tournament at his estate in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The event was hugely popular, and around 100,000 people attended. Step onto the battlefield and discover some of the objects associated with this flamboyant festival here.

The first important professional woman artist of modern Scotland, Phoebe Anna Traquair was a leading figure within the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement.

The Ann Paludan Photographic Archive consists of more than 10,000 photographsof historical Chinese sculptures, and represents over thirty years of site visits and research by writer and art historian Ann Paludan (1928–2014).

Why should a 19th century Scottish woman feature on a contemporary African cloth? Discover the story of Mary Slessor: missionary, magistrate and champion of women's rights.

This elaborate 19th century vase was created by the architect and designer William Burges, and formed part of his opulent interior decoration design for Cardiff Castle.

If the first four-legged animals had never emerged from water onto land, our world today would not exist. Yet how did this great step happen? The mystery is finally being solved – and fossils discovered in Scotland lie at the heart of the story.

This very important fossil, affectionately known as ‘Lizzie', was discovered in Scotland in the 1980s and could be the earliest known reptile.

This simple looking object made it possible for the first clinical trials and batch production of penicillin to take place. Its design marks a significant milestone in the history of medicine.

From ancient ceramics to imperial jade, oracle bones to contemporary propaganda posters, our Chinese collection spans over four thousand years and includes around 11,000 items.

This Byzantine sardonyx bowl mounted on a 16th-century gold stand is truly a magnificent object.

Discover how research and collecting at National Museums Scotland is reshaping understandings of Scotland in the past as we take a closer look at a very special Roman object with surprising Egyptian origins.