![An adult and child stand beneath the tail end wings of a Concorde aircraft stationed inside a large hangar.](https://nms-supercool.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/Images/National-Museum-of-Flight/Interior/Hangars/Concorde/flight-beneath-concorde.jpg?w=570&h=426&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1718695347&s=69b3911caee888a54027a9216e3b6d68)
Technology
Our Technology collections cover a wide spectrum of objects relating to industry, engineering, communications, transport and agriculture.
The past, present and future of energy production in Scotland, and its consequences for the environment, can be explored through objects ranging from the 1876 Boulton and Watt beam engine to contemporary renewables.
Communications objects tell rich Scottish stories, such as a piece of the first Transatlantic telephone cable that ran from Oban to Nova Scotia, which carried the ‘hot line’ between the White House and the Kremlin during the Cold War.
Vehicles on land, sea and air are represented in the transport collections, reflecting the development of transport from horse-drawn carriages to jet-powered supersonic aircraft, and from wooden boats to autonomous vehicles.
Our agricultural collections illustrate the mechanisation of arable and livestock farming in Scotland, from hand-tools to horse-drawn and motorised land-working machines and equipment such as threshing machines, ploughs, tractors and combine harvesters.
Objects from the Technology collections are on display in the Science & Technology galleries at the National Museum of Scotland, as well as at the National Museum of Rural Life and the National Museum of Flight.
Meet the team
Dr Meredith Greiling
Principal Curator of TechnologyEllie Swinbank
Senior Curator of TechnologyGeorgina Grant
Curator of TechnologyIan Brown
Assistant Curator of AviationAlan Mills
Assistant Curator of CommunicationsKatarina Grant
Assistant Curator of TechnologySarah Hiddleston
Assistant Curator of Technology
Postdoctoral Researchers
PhD Students
Technology stories
- Discover
Memories of Nobles Amusements
In May 2024, National Museums Scotland recorded local memories of Nobles Amusements in Portobello, Edinburgh.Nobles Amusements has been a source of family entertainment for over a century. In the 1960s it made way for a new era of games… - Discover
10 video games with Scottish connections
Scotland is home to some of the most innovative and influential game makers.From the invention of the ZX Spectrum computer in the 1980s, to world-building influenced by the Scottish landscape, Scotland can be found in many corners of the… - Discover
Sir James Black: the pioneering Scottish scientist who won the Nobel Prize
Sir James Black was one of the greatest Scottish scientists of the modern era. His work in medicine and pharmacology has improved the quality of life for millions of people around the world.