Cobalt, found in the mineral cobaltoan spinel, is used in mobile phone batteries.

Silica, an element found in quartz, is used to make chips and microprocessors in mobile phones.

Wulfenite contains the element molybdenum, which can be used to make connectors and wires in mobile phones.

Lithium, one of the elements in spodumene, is used in mobile phone batteries.

Fluorine, found in the mineral fluorite, can be used in mobile phone cases.

Antimony can used to make mobile phone circuitboards.

Sphalerite can contain three elements used in mobile phones: zinc, indium and gallium.

Platinum can be used in mobile phone circuitboards.

Silver is used in mobile phone circuitboards.

Titanium, an element found in the mineral rutile, is used to make mobile phone cases.

Magnesium, an element found in dolomite, is used to make mobile phone cases.

Tin, found in cassiterite, is used in mobile phone circuitboards.

Aluminium, one of the elements in Diaspore, is used in mobile phone circuitboards.

Lead, found in galena, is used to make mobile phone circuitboards.

Diamond is a form of carbon, an element used to make electrodes in mobile phone batteries.

Nickel, found in the mineral nickeline is used in mobile phone batteries.

Boron is used to make microprocessor and camera chips in mobile phones.

Hydrogen, one of the elements in oil shale, is used in mobile phone cases.

Sodium and chlorine, both found in halite, can be used in mobile phone touchscreens and cases.

Sulphur is used to make mobile phone circuitboards.

Chromium, an element found in crocoite, is used to make mobile phone cases.

Iron can be used in the speakers and microphones of mobile phones.

Strontianite contains strontium, which is used in mobile phone circuitboards.

Zirconium, found in zircon, is used to make mobile phone circuitboards.

Greenockite contains cadmium, used to make mobile phone batteries.

Cinnabar contains the element mercury, which can be found in mobile phone circuitboards.

Book linked to the Hugh Miller Collection in National Museums Scotland wins this prestigious award

On 3 December 1917, a little after 13:00, a large fireball was seen to cross southern Scotland. A short time later, an explosion was heard and four objects were seen or heard to crash to the ground around the towns of Coupar Angus and Blairgowrie in the Strathmore area of central Scotland.

This unique water basin, shaped like a citadel, was made by Moroccan potters, probably as a diplomatic gift, in the 19th century.

This exhibition revealed an insight into the lives of children in the 18th and 19th centuries through a unique collection of Scottish samplers on loan from American collector Leslie B. Durst.

This targe, or shield, was presented to Prince Charles Edward Stuart before Culloden, but abandoned when the Prince fled the field.

After its invention in the 1620s, the microscope had its first high point in the second half of the 17th century.

This evening dress of bright leaf green and red shot silk is by the Maison Lucile Ltd, founded by Lady Duff Gordon, and is on display in our new galleries.

These medieval chess pieces from the Scottish island of Lewis are among our most popular collections. They give us fascinating insights into the international connections of western Scotland and the growing popularity of chess in medieval Europe.

Our ancient Southern European collections offer a window onto the diverse cultures that flourished along the Mediterranean coast in antiquity.

This Persian leopard is a male that was born at Bristol Zoo in 1994. He eventually found a home at Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany where he died at the advanced age of 17 years old.

Early microscopes were sold by scientists and craftsmen, but by 1660 their production shifted to more commercial workshops.

Two pieces of tusk in our collection show that some woolly mammoths made their home in Scotland, while another provides early evidence of mammoths in North America.

For almost 30 years, anyone who could afford the ticket could shoot across the globe at twice the speed of sound. How? By flying on Concorde, the world’s only supersonic passenger aeroplane.

Portable steam engines were in common use in industrialised countries from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century as power sources for machinery on farms and in rural factories.

Especially for us, master builder Warren Elsmore and his team have created a LEGO® Big Build of our very own Concorde.

Discover how brass and copper once featured as mediums of exchange, status and power in Africa through highlights of the museum’s 19th and early 20th century collections from west and central Africa.

From intricate firelighting tools to rocket-powered aircraft and a fire alarm with a difference, our collections feature intriguing links to the element fire.

Investigate different aspects of life on Earth, through fascinating fossils, tools for turning the soil and pieces of art reflecting the devastating effects of pollution on our planet.

Investigate the 'fifth element' through the wonders of digital technology, from early computers to the development of mobile telephones and robot repairs.

Discover how air has been used in modes of transport from airships to hot air balloons and how different species make use of air to travel through flight and gliding.

Discover and investigate the history of the cash register, an object that has become a part of our everyday lives.

Our online database contains a selection of the 12 million objects and specimens in our collections.