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.
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Technology stories
- Discover
8 women in Scotland who shaped the history of science
Many of the scientific endeavours featured in our collections are the work of women with a connection to Scotland. - 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… - Discover
Stowaways and cats: the first transatlantic flight from Britain to the United States
On 2 July 1919 Airship R34 departed from East Fortune Airfield, landing on Long Island, New York over four days later. It was the first transatlantic flight from Britain to the United States.
