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ROYAL MUSEUM AND MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND
Opening Hours
Monday to Saturday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 8pm
Sunday 12noon - 5pm
ADMISSION FREE
Admission to both Museums is free. There may be a charge for some temporary exhibitions.
Membership
Become a Member and enjoy a wide range of benefits including special events, regular mailings, Explorer magazine, special offers and discounts, free admission to fifteen museums around Scotland and much more!
Friend £16
Friend Couple £24
Family £30
Join at the Information Desks, call 0131 247 4191 or visit www.nms.ac.uk/membership
Royal Museum
This Museum houses the outstanding international collections of Decorative Arts, Science and Industry, Archaeology and the Natural World and contains an extraordinary range of material. Thirty-six galleries of varying sizes present artefacts from around the globe and natural history specimens.
When visitors enter the first sight is the magnificent Main Hall, with its elegant 'bird-cage' design. The Hall is flooded with natural light and provides a great sense of space and tranquillity, with fountains and fish ponds and many wonderful objects.
Museum of Scotland
A striking new landmark in Edinburgh's historic Old
Town, the Museum of Scotland presents for the first time the history of Scotland - its land, its people and their
achievements - through the rich national collections. The stunning series of galleries take you from Scotland's geological beginnings through time to the twentieth century.
Both Museums are in Chambers Street, located in the heart
of Edinburgh, ten minutes walk from the main railway station (Waverley Station) and five minutes from the Royal Mile.
Facilities
There is wheelchair access throughout the Museums including adapted toilets public lifts to all floors. The Royal Museum's Information Desk and Lecture Theatre both have an
induction loop.
'Café Delos' is in the main hall of the Royal Museum and is
open from 10am to 4pm, serving quality coffees, teas,
home-baked cakes and other sweet and savoury food. The 'Soupson' tea-room caters for families and has a soup and
salad bar as well as sandwiches, cakes, and other refreshments. It is open from 10am to 4.30pm.
In the Museum of Scotland the Tower Restuarant is open daily from 10am to 11pm (last reservations). Open every day for lunch and dinner, superlative food, wine and service have ensured that the Tower has become a regular dining destination for visitors to the city and locals alike. |
Royal Museum of Scotland
Royal Museum and Museum of Scotland
Chambers Street
Edinburgh EH1 1JF |
TEL - 0131 247 4422
FAX - 0131 220 4819 |
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
ROYAL MUSEUM & MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND
Please look below for listings of events and exhibitions at the Royal Museum and Museum of Scotland:
1. NEW! - Gallery of the Month
2. Discovery Centre
3. Free Guided Tours
4. Exhibitions
1. GALLERY OF THE MONTH
May -Scotland Transformed
In our exciting new initiative - Gallery of the Month, we focus on a different gallery in the Royal Museum or Museum of Scotland and offer a wide range of events for all ages.
In May we focus on Level 3 of the Museum of Scotland which traces Scotland’s development from the Union of the Parliaments in 1707 to the coming of the industrial age. Its themes include the Jacobite risings, Scottish society during the Enlightenment, the start of the Industrial Revolution and the Church.
Jacobites Alive!
Saturday 3 May 11am, 1pm, 2pm and 3.30pm
Sunday 4 May 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 3pm and 4pm
Museum of Scotland, Hawthornden Court, Free
Discover the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie, his Jacobite followers and the Battle of Culloden. Find out how the Jacobites lived, fought and died. 20 minutes. Age 8+.
Scottish Traditional Weaving Songs
Saturday 10 May, 1.15pm, 2.15pm, 3.15pm and 4.15pm
Museum of Scotland, Level 3, Free (15 minutes)
Renowned folk singer Christine Kydd presents a series of traditional Scottish folk and weaving songs. Drop in and listen – or join in with simple choruses!
Spinning Demonstrations
Friday 16 and Saturday 17 May, 1.30-4pm
Museum of Scotland, Level 3, Free
Rosemary Wilkes, hand spinner and dyer, demonstrates traditional flax spinning at these drop-in events where you can handle flax, woven fabric and dyed materials.
Floods, Falls and Fire!
Sunday 25 May, 2.15pm
Museum of Scotland, Free (30 minutes)
Discovery trail for primary aged children, lasts 30 minutes. Meet at the Museum of Scotland Information Desk.
There are many other Gallery of the Month Events for adults - visit the Museum website to find out more!
The Art Cart
Sundays Throughout May, 2pm - 4pm
Royal Museum
Look out for our new Art Cart, roving the Museum's galleries with free art materials for you to use.
In May look in the William Speirs Bruce exhibition!
2. MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND DISCOVERY CENTRE
Join in the fun in this hand-on activity zone during the school holidays, every aftrenoon during term-time and all day at weekends! Investigate a Roman soldier's kitbag, try out a Viking's sword, sniff out evidence of medieval trade or explore our multimedia programmes. There are also exciting Discovery trails for children and other events throughout the holidays. The Discovery Centre on Level 3 of the Museum of Scotland is open daily, and admission is free, check out the What's On posters for opening times, and just drop in!
For further information telephone 0131 247 4090.
3. GUIDED TOURS
Join our Volunteer Guides and Visitor Services Staff on these fascinating free tours which focus on different aspects of the collections.
Royal Museum
Guided Tours - Take a tour of the highlights of the Royal Museum, daily at 3pm (except Tuesday and Thursdays), lasts 45 minutes
Themed Tours - Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3pm, Sunday at 2pm, lasts 45 minutes. Each tour focuses on a different topic, a list of subjects is available from the Information Desks
Children's Tours - Saturdays and Sundays at 2.30pm.
Children and families will love these short entertaining tours focusing on an different object or theme. A list of subjects is available from the Information Desks
Walk the Talk - Mon to Sat 11am, 1pm & 4pm, Sun 1pm &4pm
Find out the story of the Royal Museum in the company of Visitor Services staff.
Museum of Scotland
Guided Tours - Every day at 11.30am and 2pm there is a tour of the Museum highlights, with an additional tour on Tuesdays at 6pm
Themed Tours - These daily tours at 3pm focus on a wide variety of subjects. A list of topics is available, in advance, from the Information Desk.
Walk the Talk
Enjoy a general introduction to the Museum of Scotland with Visitor Services Staff
Monday to Saturday 10.30am, 12 noon and 3.30pm
Sunday 12.30pm and 3.30pm
Guided tours of exhibIT - explore our computer-based information service, which offers access to a wide range of multimedia and internet resources. Discover how to find out more about the Museums' collections, online.Daily tours leave from the Museum of Scotland Information Desk at 2.30pm.
4. EXHIBITIONS
William Speirs Bruce - The First Polar Hero
Until 1 June 2003
This centenary exhibition celebrates the 1902 - 04 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition led by Dr William Speirs Bruce. The expedition, aboard the yacht Scotia, was Bruce's greatest achievement and placed Scotland at the forefront of polar research.
1895 - 1917 was a fascinating period in polar history and is often referred to as "the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration" because it was then that many powerful European countries were exploring Antarctica. Scotland was no exception and William Speirs Bruce at this time was known as the most experienced polar scientist in Britain. The First Polar Hero looks in particular, at the Scottish contribution to exploration during this period. It follows the fate of the Scotia, when it set out from Troon on the Clyde with Bruce and his crew, to the 8 long months it spent trapped in ice, frozen off the south coast of Laurie Island, later named Scotia Bay.
Admission Free
The First Polar Hero is a collaborative exhibition between the National Museums of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
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Textile Art From Southern Appalachia - The Quiet Work of Women
Until 25 May 2003
Discover the rich heritage of mountain coverlet
weaving from Southern Appalachia, a region that includes Western North Carolina, East Tennessee,and Southwest Virginia.
The Appalachian region has long enjoyed a distinctive artistic tradition developed from a unique combination of social, geographical and cultural circumstances. The exhibition includes over 40 visually stunning coverlets, woven by hand, as well as the personal histories of the weavers. It brings together these textiles and their stories, inspiring respect and appreciation for the artistic excellence and long tradition of mountain coverlet hand weaving.
Admission Free
In association with the American Textile History Museum, Lowell, MA.
Mao: Arts for the Masses
1 May 2003 - March 2004
Unique and powerful images made in traditional media such as porcelain, lacquer and ivory illustrate the political idealism of the period of the Cultural Revolution in China. The formation of Communist China is brought to life through a private collection of masterpieces made between 1950-1976. Acquired during and immediately after the Cultural Revolution,these pieces are now extremely rare and their value has been reassessed in China where painful memories of this difficult period are receding.
The top master-craftsmen were encouraged to use the best materials with no restriction on production time to produce perfect images of Mao's revolution. In contrast the colourful and striking posters on display were produced to propagate the cult of Mao and his vision of New China.
Dino Birds: The Feathered Dinosaurs of China
27 June - 7 September 2003
Meet the bizarre ancestors of modern birds. Recent discoveries have enabled scientists to unravel the mystery of how birds evolved from dinosaurs. In 2000, local farmers in Laioning Province, north-east China, unearthed the missing link ö a dinosaur fossil affectionately named 'Fuzzy Raptor'. The exhibition features this original 124-million-year-old fossil as well as another 12 dinobird fossils on loan from The Geological Museum of China.
Dino Birds: The Feathered Dinosaurs of China has been designed and created by the Natural History Museum in collaboration with The Geological Museum of China.
THE MILLENNIUM CLOCK
Bersudsky's most recent work is the eagerly-awaited Millennium Clock, a towering structure which dominates the Royal Museum's magnificent Main Hall, ushering in the year 2000. The clock was created in situ in December, enabling visitors to watch it grow and admire the intricacies of its making.
Ten metres high, the clock came to life on 1 January at 12 noon. It now chimes every hour following a 5-minute mechanical performance.
The Millennium Clock is supported by the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Fund, the Millennium Festival Scotland and the NMS Charitable Trust. |
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