Natural Sciences
Welcome to the Natural Sciences department. We research, maintain and monitor National Museums Scotland's Natural Sciences collections.
Our collections and specimens are open to researchers for examination, and we'd be happy to help you conduct research. Please contact our staff to enquire.
Contact list of staff members
Natural Sciences department
Our collections
Our collections are global in terms of their content and most of the several million specimens held originate from efforts to better understand the natural world.
What we do
Our scientists undertake research in a number of areas ranging from phylogenetics, biometrics, biodiversity informatics, biodiversity monitoring, biogeography and taxonomy, to tectonic geomorpology, gemmology, topographical mineralogy, volcanology, palaeoecology, palaeoentomology and palaeoneurology.
Natural Sciences on X
Follow @NatSciNMS on X for collections highlights & research.
Natural Sciences stories
- Discover
Meet ‘Lizzie’, a 345 million year old fossil
In the 1980s, a very important fossil was discovered in Scotland. Named Westlothiana, the fossil got its nickname 'Lizzie' because it looked so lizard-like. But don't let the name fool you. It was thought to be the oldest known reptile,… - Discover
The folky tale of the mineral tacharanite
This mineral got its name from how it behaves when exposed to air, but with a Scottish folkloric twist!Tacharanite occurs in nature as bundles and little spheres of silky white fibres in altered basalt rocks. It's found in several… - Discover
The surprising story of the mineral ramsayite
When is ramsayite not ramsayite? Find out below in a story of clans, Swedish nobility, Finnish land and titles, and a shocking twist!Ramsayite was first described in 1923. It was noted as pale purple to brown, or pale pink to mauve, or…
